


10 Years Gone, but Never Forgotten

by TaraHarkon



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angus Bluejeans, Blood, Episode: e067-069 Story and Song Parts 1-3, F/M, Lup and Barry are Ango's parents, Lup is not in the umbrastaff, Murder, Murder Mystery, Poisoning, Temporary Character Death, canon typical death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-03-21 00:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 28,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13729245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraHarkon/pseuds/TaraHarkon
Summary: Lup didn't go alone to hide the gauntlet. She didn't bring Barry, or Taako, or even Magnus. No, in the kind of decision only made in the pre-dawn light when presented with your clandestine escape being thwarted by the sounds of a fussy infant, she'd brought Angus. And over the next ten years, she would do her best to raise her little dude right. Even if she had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she was supposed to be going somewhere. Even if she had a plate full of questions and nothing that even looked like an answer.





	1. Chapter 1

That’s the thing about needing to take care of someone else, you take better care of yourself. Lup hadn’t been alone when she went to deal with the Phoenix Fire Gauntlet. Not that she’d brought Taako or Barry with her. No. She thought with chagrin now as she blasted the dwarf to keep that blade away from her. And away from the baby in the carrier strapped to her chest. Angus started to cry as Lup slammed into the wall, jumping to the side to dodge yet another slash. She could see the poison dripping on the blade now. If she’d been alone, she would never have noticed the sound of that dagger escaping its sheath, would never have been on that level of high alert. No, she would’ve been lost in her own thoughts about the gauntlet and sealing it away and everything that meant.

“We’re fine, Ango. Promise.” If her tone had just a hint of desperation, Lup hoped the baby wouldn’t notice. Did babies know what desperation was? “Fuck it.”

She raised the umbra staff and blasted Cyrus Rockseeker with a spell she didn’t normally use. It wasn’t evocation, but she knew her way around Barry’s go-to necromancy spells as well as she knew her own arsenal. When the dwarf fell backwards into the vault, she threw the gauntlet in with him and then slammed the door shut. Time to tally up her hurts. Good news, he hadn’t stuck her with his knife. Bad news, she was definitely bleeding in a few places and a few of her ribs were probably cracked. And Angus was still crying. She hugged him as tightly as she could, wincing against the pain.

“It’s alright, little man. We’re going home now. Mama’s all done with her stupid errands.”

Turning, she started walking back towards the entrance of the mine. She was going to need to find a healer before she went back to the Starblaster, or she wasn’t going to make it all the way there. Yeah, going out without Taako or Barry or someone else besides her and an infant had definitely been a mistake. Major lapse in judgement on that one. But no, she had decided this was her mess and she was going to clean it up. She hadn’t even planned on bringing Angus, but he’d started crying when she passed the crib and she couldn’t just leave him to cry and wake up Barry. 

* * *

She stopped on the road back to Phandalin. It was only just hitting her that she couldn’t exactly go back into the town without Cyrus. That would look super duper suspicious. Especially with her injured. Lup looked up towards the sky for a moment and shifted Angus to try and ease some of the strain on ribs that were definitely cracked if not broken. Okay, next best. She could try to get a message to the Starblaster and get picked up? She could pretend she has the slightest clue how healing magic works... Nope. That wasn’t happening. Okay, find a healer  _ quickly _ and then get out of Phandalin. Good plan, Lup. Good plan.

She ended up finding an out of the way farm instead and was grateful that one of them was a druid. It was getting late, and the halfling family offered to let her stay for dinner. By then, she ended up staying the night. 

* * *

Lucretia leaned against the wall, staring at the Voidfish’s tank. Barry and Taako were out on the deck discussing their ongoing search for Lup and Angus. It had been months. Months and they hadn’t heard a thing. Looking at the notebooks on the desk, Lucretia took a breath. It was time to set into motion the plan she had come up with when she had first seen how much her family was in pain, how much they were regretting what they’d done. One by one, the notebooks went into the tank and one by one the memories were forgotten. It hurt, but it was what she had to do to be able to fix things.

* * *

Lup woke to the sound of crying. She opened her eyes slowly, reluctantly breaking her trance. Then she looked around her with a frown. Granted, she was used to waking up in strange places but... Then she smiled. Of course, she’d come here to deal with... to deal with... Well, whatever it was, she’d already handled it. She was in a farmhouse. No big, she’d been in farmhouses before. She just didn’t entirely remember how she’d gotten here or... Okay, seriously, where was the crying coming from? Lup pulled herself to standing and quickly saw the source: a half-elven baby pulling himself up to standing in a cot in the corner. She walked over and scooped him up in her arms.

“Hey there, Angus, it’s alright.”

Then she frowned slightly. Angus? And when had she gotten a baby? He grabbed onto her shirt, still crying, and she reached for her pack on the floor. 

“Well, mine now...”

She muttered it as she handed him the wooden duck he’d thrown to the floor. He sure seemed like he thought he was her kid. Even if that didn’t make any sense... But hey, either way. She had a kid. Now, she needed to go get them both breakfast and get out of here. She was out the door before the sun was up and back on the road, leaving behind a very confused halfling family who didn’t know where their guest of the day before had gone. 

* * *

Lup decided to cut through one of the fields, having nicked some milk for Angus and an apple for herself. There was something tugging her, some insistence that she had somewhere she needed to go. It felt like it was right there on the tip of her tongue and then...gone again. Ah well, that didn’t matter. She pulled her bright crimson robe in tighter around her shoulders with one hand, holding on tight to Angus. He was starting to chatter in that happy baby way, looking around at all the things in the big bright world. 

“So, buddy, where do you wanna go? We’ve got the whole world to-”

And then she stopped. There was a man laying in the field. A man wearing the same color robe that she was.

“Well, that’s weird.”

She skirted around him, noting the burns on his shirt. Magic. He’d been hit with a spell. She reached for the umbra staff strapped to her pack and tightened her grip on Angus. If there was someone out here, she’d be ready. Angus reached towards the man, screwing up his little face in a way that presaged a full on tantrum. 

“Shit...”

Lup adjusted her grip on the baby, trying to keep him from seeing the man laying there. Babies didn’t understand death, right? There was no way Ango could know what that meant. And she didn’t recognize the guy...right? Nope. Never seen this poor dead nerd before in her life. Still... Some absolutely irrational part of her wanted to pick up the mangled glasses laying in the dirt and put them back on his face. She did no such thing. Instead, Lup turned and she ran.


	2. Raven's Roost

Elves need a conduit to trance. Some use mind puzzles, some use philosophy. Lup’s preference has always been her memories. There’s nothing quite like queuing up your own memories and letting them play out like a movie. So, there she was, playing back through a day in her own childhood. It was one of the good days, one of the cooking days. She and her aunt were making a turkey dinner and she was so excited. At the same time, Lup knew she had to be patient. This was a cook-all-day kind of affair and she was so into that. Especially the part where you set that bird and you forget it. It’s going to take hours, bubbleh, so just let that bird go. Then something poked her in the nose and giggled. Lup opened her eyes and smiled.

“You’re up early.”

“Sun’s been up for hours, Mama.”

Lup sighed dramatically and caught the half-elf boy up in her arms, flipping him upside down as she stood. His hat flew and he let out a whoop of excitement.

“Sun’s awake so you’re awake? That right, Ango?”

He was laughing too hard to get out an answer. After a moment, she set him back on his feet and reached for his hat.

“Where are we going today, Mama?”

Sometimes, Lup was surprised how fast Angus seemed to be growing. But then, he was only half elf. That pesky human half would have him aging quick, at least compared to what she was used to. He was already five years old and brilliant. Even if he was a bit of a nerd. And not just because he’d had to start wearing glasses this past year. A full half of his pack, enchanted as it was to hold extra without weighing the little guy down, was books. She had no idea where he’d gotten this nerd streak from, but she thought it was cute.

“Wherever the wind takes us, my dude.”

He laughed at that just like he always did, but this time he waited until a breeze started and threw a leaf into it. Then he ran off, chasing after it.

“This way, Mama!”

Grabbing her own pack and slinging it over her shoulder, Lup ran after him.

* * *

They had made it a few miles down the road, falling quickly into their usual habit of playing I Spy games as they walked. The sun was high in the sky and Lup was starting to think it might be time to stop for lunch soon. That left one very important question: were they near a town or was it time to bust into the trail rations?

“Hey Angus! First one to spot a signpost wins!”

He laughed and took off running again, looking around excitedly. A moment later, Lup heard him shout from just around a bend.

“Does a person count?”

Lup picked up her pace and turned the corner to see Angus cheerfully greeting a human man with a cart. She blinked a few times. Was he seriously transporting a rocking chair? Sure, why not. You do you, human dude. She ran her fingers through her hair and walked up behind her son.

“Hey my dude, sorry if he was bothering you or anything. We just-”

The man honestly laughed.

“No, not all.”

Lup relaxed visibly and Angus bounced on the balls of his feet.

“Do you know if there’s a town near here, Sir? We were playing the signpost game, but I found you instead and directions are waaay better than signposts.”

The man’s friendly smile turned into a huge grin and he pointed back the way he’d come.

“Good news! There’s a town just a few hours down the road. It’s called Ravens Roost. And if you’re looking for somewhere to eat, you go to the tavern in the center of town and you tell them Magnus Burnsides sent you.”

Lup grinned at this cheerful stranger and shook her head a little in disbelief.

“That being you?”

“Yup!”

“Well, thanks for the advice, Magnus Burnsides. I’m Lup, and this is my son-”  
“My name’s Angus, Sir!”

Magnus laughed at the little boy’s exuberance.

“If I wasn’t going the other way, I’d offer you a ride. But I’m headed to Neverwinter. Don’t worry, though, the road’s not bad.”

With Angus kept waving until the cart and Magnus Burnsides disappeared around the bend. Then he reached for Lup’s hand.

“Are we going there now, Mama? Raven’s Roost?”

Lup turned to look towards the horizon.

“Yeah, little dude, sounds good to me.”

* * *

They’d only stayed in Raven’s Roost long enough to grab lunch and then they were back on the road. Afternoons, Lup usually carried Angus. He was only five after all. Five year olds couldn’t be expected to walk all day. He had little legs. And anyway, Lup didn’t mind giving him a piggyback for a while in the afternoon.

“He was really nice.”

Angus was resting his head on Lup’s shoulder, his arms around her neck to hold on as best as he could.

“Who? Magnus? Yeah, he was. Super nice dude. Really nice town too.”

Angus made a quiet sound of agreement and Lup tilted her head to the side, trying to get a look at him.

“You alright, buddy?”

Sometimes, Lup wondered if she was doing this wrong, this whole parenting thing. If maybe she should have just found some place to call home, at least until Angus was older. But she really didn’t know how to do settled down. At least, not that she remembered. Everything that she remembered was traveling. At least this way she and Angus had each other. At least this way, they were never alone.

“I’m good, Mama. Just sleepy.”

She smiled at that and looked around.

“We could camp early, if you wanted.”

He barely concealed a yawn and Lup’s smile turned to a laugh. There was a clearing off to the left, far enough off the trail that she could set up a few simple wards and keep them safe. It wasn’t even like alarm was a hard spell. First level. She had that shit on lock down.

“Think you’ve got enough left in you to get some firewood?”

She set him down and then stacked their packs. He gave her a grin and a goofy salute before running off towards the trees. She began sketching the circle around their campsite so she had something to key the spell to. With that done, it was just getting a bit of ground cleared to make a firepit before Angus got back with the wood. That, and try to ignore the feeling gnawing at her gut that she couldn’t identify.

“Got it!”

Angus ran back into the clearing with his arms full of sticks and Lup grinned.

“Perfect. Let’s get these set up and I’ll show you how to cast conjure flame, my dude.”


	3. Sizzle It Up With...Who?

“Do you think this town’s got a bookstore, Mama?”

Lup raised an eyebrow looking at the little frontier settlement they were headed towards.

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up, my dude. This place looks a little rustic.”

Angus stopped, looking up at the sign welcoming them into town and tilted his head to the side. Then he shrugged.

“That’s okay.”

She came up beside him and ruffled his hair.

“We can head towards Neverwinter next. I guarantee we can get you the next Caleb Cleveland there. Cool?”

“Cool.”

Lup took one more look at the sign, fixing this place on her mental map. Glamour Springs. Well, it sure didn’t look glamorous. Maybe they were just being optimistic. Sort of a ‘if you build it, they will come’ kind of thing. She shrugged and walked into town.

* * *

They settled in at the tavern, each with a piping hot meat pie in hand. Angus had one of his books open and was reading while he ate. Lup had a map spread out on the table and was trying to decide their next route. They would stick around here long enough to resupply and rest, maybe even sleep in a bed. Then she could probably see if there was a caravan headed towards Neverwinter. See if they needed a cook, or a guard, or whatever. If not, well, they’d continue on foot.

“Did you hear?”

One of Lup’s ears twitched slightly at the excited buzz of conversation near the door. It was an old habit, listening in on other people’s conversations. It was the best way to make sure she wasn’t going to end up in trouble.

“Are you going?”

“Absolutely!”

She looked over at Angus and grinned. He had his head tilted to the side in that way he got when he was eavesdropping. She caught his eye and raised an eyebrow. He responded, in the Elvish she’d been teaching him.

“There’s a cooking show in town. That’s what someone said earlier.” Then he switched back to Common, excitement on his face. “Can we see it?”

Lup shrugged, folding up her map.

“Sure, I don’t see why not. But finish your lunch first, little dude.”

* * *

Lup boosted Angus up onto her shoulders and stayed near the back of the crowd. She could see the wagon that served as kitchen and stage pretty well from back here. From the gossip, this show was as much about magic as about cooking. Maybe she'd see something worth learning. Transmutation wasn't really her jam, but who knows.

“Hey, Ango, what’d you say this thing is called again? Sizzle what with who now?”

Angus giggled and pointed towards the wagon.

“It’s written right there, Mama. Sizzle It Up With Taako.”

Lup followed where he was pointing and looked at the sign, a little frown on her face.

“Yeah... Right. I remember now.”

But she didn’t. The name wouldn’t stick in her mind for some reason. She would see it or hear it and then it would slide right back out of her mind like water off the back of a duck. Before she had more time to be frustrated about it, though, a hush went over the crowd. It was followed a moment later by cheering as an Elf stepped out onto the stage with his hands in the air. He took a few bows with a flourish and the show began.

A few minutes in and Lup wasn’t impressed. Sure, this guy’s cooking wasn’t bad. But it was sloppy. He was covering for it alright with flourishes and magic, but he kept moving like he was trying to hand things to someone else. Maybe this used to be a pair act and now it was just... Toto or whatever his name was. On the other hand, she kind of wanted his recipe. 30 Garlic chicken sounded really good. Maybe add some fried potatoes as a side with some complementary spices.

“So then, I’m just gonna add an elderberry garnish like so.” He scooped up a handful of something and rolled them through his fingers, transmuting them on the spot into elderberries as promised. “And serve. And I know you all wanna try this, am I right?”

The crowd was cheering again. Lup tilted her head back, looking up at Angus.

“Well, buddy, want some?”

Angus tugged on his ear, looking at the crowd lined up for food.

“Nah, I’m still full.” Then he tilted his head to the side, little face screwed up in deep thought. “Mama, how come...?”

He frowned, trailing off.

“How come what, Ango?”

He made a quiet sound, then he blurted his question.

“How come Taako looks like you, Mama?”

Lup opened her mouth and closed it again. How did you even respond to that?

“Angus, my dude, he’s a High Elf. I’m a High Elf. Like, I know we haven’t been around that many other Elves, but that’s it. End of story. He’s just another blond High Elf.”

* * *

 

Angus was certain that his mother knew a lot of things. She knew the best stories, and all about magic. She knew which berries they could eat and which mushrooms were useful in spell work. She knew games they could play and she knew exactly how to make the best hot cocoa in the entire world. But right now, he was pretty sure he knew something she didn’t. Now, he may only be six years old, and six may not be very many, but he was certain of one thing: Taako looked like his mom. And that was a clue. He didn’t know what it was a clue to yet, but it was something interesting that stuck out to him. So he would do what Caleb Cleveland did. He would keep his eyes open and remember everything. And just maybe, he could solve the mystery. He was about to ask to be let down so he could go investigate when a Tielfling not too far from them started throwing up. And she wasn’t the only one. People all around were starting to get sick. People who had eaten the chicken.

“Mama?”

His mother swung him down into her arms and shook her head. She didn’t know. That was bad. Angus looked up at the stage again. Taako was standing there still, the easy smile gone. His hands were over his face. Something was very, very wrong.

“Mama, what’s-?”

She shook her head again and turned, reaching for her pack where it lay at her feet.

“We’re leaving. Now.”

Angus looked back at Taako over his mother’s shoulder. The chef was talking to his assistant in that hushed whisper that grownups got when they were doing something bad. He’d seen it often enough to know.

“But, Mama, I think-”

She stopped and looked at him, worry in her eyes.

“Ango, babe, think for a minute. Neither of us can heal, so we can’t help. And sometimes, when something bad happens in a place, they blame strangers, even if those strangers didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not right, but it happens. So we’re leaving.”

Angus rested his head on his mother’s shoulder and sighed. Sometimes, his mother knew things he didn’t like, things about how people were bad. About how things weren’t like his stories. That didn’t mean he had to like it.

“What about Taako, Mama?”

She looked at him oddly and shifted his weight so he was a little easier to carry, turning towards the road out of town.

“Who?”


	4. Where She Wasn't

“You need to find Gundren Rockseeker and stick with him no matter what. He’s working on an expedition to the town of Phandalin. Get yourself attached to it, as a bodyguard or something. If you can do that, then hopefully you’ll start getting answers soon.”

Barry Bluejeans listened as the message finished and then shoved the coin back in his pocket. Well, so far the coin hadn’t lied to him that he knew of. And it would be really nice to get answers to all the questions the coin kept hinting at. He’d found some armor and a sword in the cave he’d woken up in, so he guessed they were his. With one last look around, he’d headed off to go find this Gundren Rockseeker, whoever he was supposed to be. 

* * *

Barry was starting to think that maybe he’d been wrong and this damn coin was trying to get him killed after all. He couldn’t really think of another reason it would have sent him into this stupid place where he was getting shot at by gerblins. He reached out and slapped Gundren’s horse on the rump, trying to get the terrified creature to go faster. Then another source of pain blossomed in his shoulder and the world started to fade to black.

* * *

He woke up to see three people standing over him and for the briefest of moments, something started to click. He was staring at this Elf that had just poured a potion down his throat and for half a second the world felt like it made sense.

“This is- This is wonderful.” Then the feeling faded and he was just Barry again. Just Barry. He started coughing and then smiled. “I’m Barry Bluejeans. Thanks for the potion. That was just great. A really great idea.”

* * *

Okay, they had a new map courtesy of Merle’s blood and they were headed off to find Gundren and this Black Spider character. Part of Barry was pretty sure he should have stayed behind in the shape he was in, but he kept thinking about the coin in his pocket and the promise that if he just saw this through, then maybe he would understand. Maybe he would know why he could feel the weight of something, someone, that should be there but was missing. It was agonizing. And at this point, he needed answers so badly it hurt. That was, of course, assuming he survived undertaking a rescue with these chucklefucks.

“Magnus, are those new boots?”

“They are new boots! Thank you. I crafted them while you were napping.”

“Those look really great.”

The mushrooms shook violently again, unleashing another wave of spores and Barry exchanged a look with Taako. Then Taako pointed up and Barry followed the line. Some sort of jelly was crawling across the ceiling towards them. Taako shot a ray of frost at it and Barry drew his sword, hoping this wouldn’t go as badly as the gerblins had earlier.

* * *

Somehow,  _ somehow _ , they survived. Despite the goofs, despite being a group of idiots, despite the fact that Barry was rapidly coming to the conclusion he didn’t actually know how to use a sword. They made it through the ooze, found another dead Rockseeker, and even managed to get healed up by a magic spring. Things didn’t start to go sideways too badly until they found the orc that spoke static and his head started to hurt.

“Are you here...for the...”

The rest of her sentence faded into static and Barry scrubbed at his face. The others were talking, he was certain of that, but he wasn’t listening. Was this what he was supposed to find? Was this static like the static that ran through his mind when he tried to remember? The static that he heard sometimes coming through the coin? But when he looked up to ask, she was already gone.

“I gotta talk to that orc.”

He blurted the words and the others looked at him. Then Magnus pointed at the now animated crusher.

“After we deal with that thing. Then we find her. Got it, Barry?”

“Got it.”

* * *

Somehow, Barry thought that maybe when they got to the room this whole thing had been about, this damn Rockseeker vault, that maybe he’d finally find his answers. But it was just an empty room with some scorch marks on the walls and a big door. Gundren opened the door and they all peered inside. There it was, the treasure of the Rockseekers. And a dead dwarf? There was a metal gauntlet laying near the dwarf but Barry skirted around that. Some part of him was screaming not to touch it, not to trust it, not to go anywhere near it. He trusted that instinct and went instead to examine the dwarf. This had to be Cyrus Rockseeker. Barry knelt, examining the blackened lines under the man’s skin.

“This is necromancy. Whatever killed him, I mean. It was necromancy.”

Taako looked over from examining one of the scorch marks across the ceiling.

“You sure, Barry?”

“Absolutely.”

But Gundren wasn’t paying an ounce of attention to either of them. He had eyes only for the gauntlet. Barry and Killian, as they’d learned her name was, noticed at the same time.

“Don’t!”

Two voices cried the word in unison, but it was too late. Gundren had already gotten the gauntlet and put it on.

* * *

They were headed back to Phandalin and the whole way, Killian was arguing with Gundren. She wanted that gauntlet. Had to take it somewhere. Barry just wanted the damn thing gone. He never wanted to see it again. It was a visceral feeling, a deep hatred that he didn’t understand.

“Look, Gundren, maybe you should just let her take-”

“This is mine, Bluejeans, its part of the Rockseeker treasure and that makes it mine.”

_ Fuck _ . The hollow feeling in his gut was getting worse. Like they were standing on a rope bridge over a chasm and the ropes were going to give way any second now and no one else was listening when he tried to warn them. Barry’s head shot up at the sound of an arrow whizzing through the air, and that’s when everything broke bad.

* * *

The Lich known as Barry Bluejeans rose from the circle of black glass that had once been the town of Phandalin crackling and screaming. Her relic. Lup’s relic. They’d found it. He’d been so close. That must have been where she hid it. And...and there had been no clues. Or had there? He closed his eyes, trying to ground himself again. No, there had been the signs of a fight. A fight Lup had won. Was that why she hadn’t come home? No. Dammit, if she’d been hurt, she would’ve come home and gotten healed by Merle. Lup was still out there somewhere, and she didn’t have the gauntlet. Well, that was something at least. And now he knew that Magnus, Merle, and Taako were alright. On their way to Lucretia’s secret fake moon base, but alright. For a long moment, he just hovered there over the black glass. Then he heard the sound of the air ripping like fabric and fled. He’d already met the Reaper once and had no plans to do that again.


	5. [Static]

Angus scribbled notes in the little Caleb Cleveland Detective Notebook he'd gotten for last Candlenights. He'd started using it as a spellbook almost immediately and he was so glad he had now that his mother was teaching him first level spells. It took a lot of work for the ten year to wrap his head around the arcane secrets he was learning, especially since he couldn't shape the evocation effects the way she could, but he sure was trying. Lup had her umbra staff raised, pointing at the makeshift target they'd whipped up.

“It's like this, Ango, you just have to trust the magic. Magic Missile’s a fun one like that. A flick of the wrist and it finds the target, as long as you believe it will and focus.”

He looked at his own small wand and tucked the notebook back in his pocket.

“Like this?”

Sticking out his tongue in concentration, Angus raised his wand to point at the upright log and spoke the incantation. Three darts of energy sluggishly dropped from the tip of his wand and vanished within a few feet. He sighed, shoulders slumping. Lup ruffled his hair.

“That was a real good try. Almost had it. Think you got one more spell slot in you, my dude, or is it cocoa time?”

He looked up at the earnest smile on his mother’s face and Angus raised his wand, intent on trying again. Stance? Good. Solid. Grip? Not to loose, not to firm. Flick your wrist and... He shouted the incantation this time and the darts of energy slammed into the target, knocking it about with pure force. Lup shouted with excitement and hugged Angus tightly.

“That’s my magic boy! You got it!”

She spun him around and then set him back on his feet.

“Let's get some celebratory cocoa. Tonight, I'm making the good shit.”

Angus let out a little whoop of joy and ran towards their campfire. He stopped short, seeing something moving just this side of the trees around their clearing. It was something red and almost... almost translucent.

“Mama?”

Lup had followed him, umbra staff still in hand. Her usually calm tone broke when she got a look. 

“Ango, get behind me.”

“Mama, what is that?”

He asked the question even as he obeyed. He knew that tone, knew the shaky fear in it. Lup raised her umbra staff and extinguished their fire with a thought.

“That's a lich, my dude.”

The lich turned at the sudden darkness and hushed voices. All the while, Lup kept the umbra staff trained on it. Then she heard an almost too-normal voice come from the undead creature.

"Lup?" It... No, he. He floated a little closer, the tone turning excited. "Lup! Lup, you're alive! You're...you're alright and... Shit, is...is that Angus? He's gotten so big."

Lup narrowed her eyes, not moving the umbra staff even so much as a fraction of an inch off of her target.  
"What the _fuck_ , undead dude. How do you know my name?"

The lich stopped, hovering about 15 feet away from them, shadowed eyes seeming to flicker back and forth between Lup's face and the tip of the umbra staff.  
  
"I... Lup, it's me. It's [static] You know me." He was flickering now, crackling with energy. When he spoke again, there was almost a note of desperation in his voice. "Your favorite meal is the turkey your aunt used to make for your birthday. You tell people you aren't ticklish, but you are. You just don't like to be tickled by people you don't trust completely. You like your coffee to be a dark roast with two sugars and cream until it turns caramel colored. And I bet that sometimes, you look up at the stars and you don't recognize them because they aren't what you're expecting and you don't know why." He paused for just a second. "Lup, I know where [static] is. You know, your [static]. I saw him. He's alright."  
  
Lup's grip on the umbra staff tightened.  
  
"Well, three out of four ain't bad, lich boy. I don't drink coffee."  
  
Four darts of force launched out of the umbra staff towards the lich and he yelped, darting backward.

"Lup, what are you-?"  
  
"Get the _fuck_ out of my camp. Stay away from me and stay the _hell_ away from my son. Or I swear, I'm going to feed you to my fucking vore umbrella."

Angus leaned around Lup, trying to get a good look at the lich.  
  
"Mama, how come he keeps talking like that? The weird noises?"  
  
"Don't know. Don't care. Didn't I tell you to stay back?"

He nodded a little. "Yeah, but..."  
  
" _Angus_." Lup put one hand back, reaching for his arm. "My dude, now is not the time. He's a lich. And what'd I tell you about liches?"

Angus sighed and half-singsonged the phrase.  
  
"Liches get stitches."

The lich took one last look at mother and son, his form crackling and seeming to shoot sparks out of it.  
  
"Lup, I..." then he looked down. "If that's what you want, I guess..."  
  
And he vanished. For a long moment, Lup stared at that spot, waiting to see if the lich had only gone invisible. They could do that, she was pretty sure.

"Ango, grab your pack." She said it in a hushed tone, hoping that maybe if the lich was still here somewhere, he wouldn't hear her. "We'll push on towards that town we saw, okay?"  
  
But Angus wasn't listening. He was looking at the spot where the lich had vanished and wondering why that man had known so much about his mom.

* * *

Barry tried to pull himself back together, but it was hard. It was so hard. He kept closing his eyes and seeing her looking at him with fear in her eyes. Gods, she thought he was going to hurt Angus. How could he keep himself stable and whole while she thought _that_. He let himself lower to the ground and squeezed his eyes closed, focusing on the memory of their special day. The way she laughed, the way she smiled when she thought no one was looking, the way she had looked at him that night at the Legato Conservatory.   
  
"Okay... You knew this could happen. You knew it was probable that no one else remembers..." He wished he had a body just so he could breathe. A nice deep breath to try and calm himself down. Instead, he fell back on an old habit. "Hydrogen. Helium. Lithium. Beryllium. Boron. Carbon. Nitrogen. Oxygen..."  
  
By the time he got to calcium, he was stable again. Lup was alive. Angus was with her. He'd already seen the boys headed off to Lucretia's base. That just left Davenport. His family was safe. He could keep trying to talk to the boys and he could keep an eye on Lup and Ango from a distance. They didn't have to know that he was there. Barry paused for a moment as a startled thought shot through his mind. Lup didn't know about the Reaper. Lup didn't know she was a lich. He would have to make sure the Reaper didn't find out about her, no matter what it took.


	6. Are You a Red Robe?

Angus sat alone on the train reading a book while he waited for his mother to come back from checking that their packs had safely been stowed in the caboose. She had left the Umbra Staff with him since his wand had been stowed along with their bags. There were three men talking to the other passengers and Angus had an eye on them. It had been a few years, but he was pretty sure the elf among the trio was Taako from the cooking show. But that wasn't the name he was using. Somehow, Angus didn't much think that Leeman and Bo Diddly were the real names of the other two. He turned the page of his book and glanced up, trying to see if his mother was back yet. He could hear the soft click of boots but there was no guarantee that was her. Then he saw the swirl of red and smiled. Lup settled into her seat beside him and held up a pretzel.

“Check out what I found, Ango.”

They split the soft pretzel and Lup put an arm around her son’s shoulders as he leaned against her.

“See anything cool while I was gone?”

He nodded eagerly and pointed at the men with the odd silver bracers.

“They're lying about their names.”

“Shit. Yeah?”

Angus grinned, nodding eagerly.   
  
"Yup! The elf calling himself Justin is Taako, you know, from the cooking show."  
  
Lup closed her eyes, frowning slightly as she tried to remember. It always confused Angus how much trouble she had remembering their trip to Glamour Springs.  
  
"That was..."  
  
"Glamour Springs, Mama."  
  
He whispered it and she nodded slowly.

"Think one of them is your killer, Ango?"  
  
Angus frowned a little, looking at his notes. He wasn't really supposed to be working on the case. He was only ten, after all. But he was sure he could solve it. And if the Rockport authorities didn't think he could, well, that was on them. His mother was certain he could. Shaking his head a little, he flipped the page.  
  
"I don't think so, Mama. But they might know something about what's going on."

Angus watched them talking to Jenkins and wondered. Could he solve two mysteries in one day? Well, he was a pretty damn good detective. Time to give it a try.

* * *

Lup watched the three men, a slow frown of concentration forming on her face. She was certain the human look familiar. Older, shadowed somehow, but familiar. He laughed at something the elf said and she grinned. Of course! The man with the chair. It had been a few year. Would he remember? She wasn't sure. Humans ran at a different scale of time and sometimes she forgot exactly how to convert between the two. That was about when Lup realized that while she’d been deep in thought, Angus had gotten out of his seat.

“Hello, sirs!”

Well, fuck. 

Lup got to her feet, looking around the train car. Then she casually leaned her umbra staff against her shoulder and walked over to the join the conversation.

“What are your real names, which aren’t the fake names you just gave me?”

Angus was grinning up at the three men and Lup was torn between laughing hysterically or dragging him kicking and screaming back to his seat. She was mentally calculating the over-under on whether or not she could take all three of them in a fight if they went after Angus when one of them broke first.

“I’m Magnus Burnsides.”

The elf shrugged.

“I’m Taako, y’know, from TV?”

The dwarf looked at the other two and then sighed.

“I’m Merle... Merle Highchurch.”

Angus looked back and up at Lup, and she almost lost the fight to keep a straight face. She had absolutely seen that exact same shit-eating grin on her own face.

“Told you they were lying about their names, Mama.” Then he looked back at the trio. “I’m Angus, and I’m a boy detective. And this is my Mama.”

Lup pointed fingerguns at them.

“S’up. I’m Lup.”

* * *

 

Angus looked back and forth between Taako and his mother. The similarities were even more poignant now that they were standing next to each other. And based on the look on Magnus’ face, he saw it too. Time to come up with a plan. With another quick glance up at his mother, Angus decided to lean into the slightly more chaotic side of his neutral good ways. He glanced around conspiratorially and then leaned in, rapidly building his story.

“Well, Sirs, I was wondering if maybe you’d want to help me on the case I’m working on just now. I’m hot on the trail of a killer known as the Rockport Slayer.”

Magnus looked startled and then looked up at Lup.

“For real?”

For half a second, Angus thought she was going to give up the game. Instead, she ruffled his hair.

“Hell yeah, my dude. Ango’s a top-notch detective. And it’s not like it’s dangerous. I’m here.”

Angus relaxed, leaning slightly against his mother’s hand on his head still. Then he straightened, remembering he had to look serious and professional.

“Anyway, I’m certain that the Rockport Slayer is somewhere on this train and-”

Before he could even finish explaining his theory, he heard a scream. Taako grinned at him.

“Sounds like you got it in one there, Agnes.”

Angus turned and ran towards the sound of the screaming before his mother could stop him. He grinned as he heard her nearly inaudible “Fuck” just before she turned to chase after him.

* * *

Lup didn’t make it more than a step before a hand closed around her arm. She turned to look back and saw that it was Magnus. Merle and... That other guy, the elf, had already gone after Angus.

“My dude, let go  _ right now.” _

Magnus looked at her for a long time, his hand not moving from her upper arm. Then he nodded and pulled his hand back.

“Look, Lup, I just need to ask you something.”

He gestured at her outfit and she looked down at herself. She was wearing her usual travel clothes, just a pair of brown trousers, a white shirt, and the same crimson robe she’d had for... well, not quite as long as she could remember. She hadn’t had it as a kid. But she’d had it at least Ango’s whole life.

“Yeah?”

“Are you...” He took a breath, hands together in front of his mouth almost like he was praying. Then he lowered them. “Are you a Red Robe?”

She raised an eyebrow, trying to decide which part of this conversation was the weirdest.

“A what the fuck now?”

“A...a Red Robe. They’re like... evil wizards.”

Lup laughed then and turned to start walking after Angus.

“I’m not evil, Magnus. Promise. I just like the color.”


	7. Recruitment

Angus was looking down at the body with curiosity on his face when Lup arrived. She sighed a little, realizing that her little boy was eagerly investigating a decapitated corpse with the same enthusiasm he usually threw into reading or spell practice. One of these days, she was really going to have to figure out where the hell he’d gotten this from because it sure wasn't from her.

“What’s interesting is that this doesn’t line up...”

That Elf from before (Tayko? Taa... something? Koko? Whatever) was leaning against the wall, watching Angus with a sort of detached curiosity. But he lit up then.

“Or maybe it wasn’t with the door. Maybe it was with a weapon.”

Merle shook his head.

“They locked up all the weapons, remember?”

“Yeah, Taako.” That was Magnus, rejoining the group a step behind Lup. “All the weapons are in the caboose.”

But Angus knew something they didn’t. He looked up at Lup, his eyes serious behind his oversized glasses.

“Mama, I need to talk to Jess the Beheader.”

* * *

Twenty minutes and at least one flaming crab monster later, they were all standing in the caboose with Jenkins cornered. Angus was feeling exceptionally pleased with himself for calling the outcome, but more than that, he felt like he’d found another mystery. Above and beyond the obvious visual similarities between Mister Taako and his Mama, there were behavioral ones. They both made the same kind of jokes, they laughed almost the same, they even cast their spells the same way. And then there was the static. He'd heard the static before, from the lich that knew his Mama. Were these men somehow connected to the lich? Was his Mama? He didn't know and there was kind of a lot to unpack there, especially for a little boy in the middle of a fight. Magnus punched Jenkins while Lup and Taako threw around spells, and then the man was knocked out the back of the train.

“He really was a pretty shitty wizard.”

Taako laughed and Lup rolled her eyes, walking towards the open vault. Magnus lunged forward as she bent down.

“Don't!”

But Lup had already picked up the monocle laying in the pile of strange items.

“Is this thing what you guys were looking for? I mean, not exactly your style, my dude, but you do you.”

And she tossed it over to Magnus, much to his surprise. Angus noted the rapid change of expressions and wondered.

* * *

Lucretia wasn't entirely sure what she was getting into. On one hand, another person who was immune to the thrall would be amazing, on the other hand... Who could it be? Only her team, her family, should be able to resist according to everything she'd learned. And this detective child, he would be amazingly useful for tracking down the rest of the relics and getting her family through this alive. Maybe he could even find Lup and Barry.

The boys hadn't given her names, just vague descriptions of a mother and child who were in Neverwinter now. Which was why she was here. Lucretia stood in the street outside the inn where the mother and child were staying, working up the will to go inside and recruit them to her cause. There were so many things that could go wrong.

“Lucretia.”

Her head snapped up at the voice, at the words. She wasn't entirely surprised to see Barry floating there in his lich form. Her hands tightened on the Bulwark Staff and she started to cast her usual ward to keep him back.

“Lucretia, wait. Just... just listen to me for a second, okay? You need to...” He paused, searching for words. “I don't know what you're doing, and I don't know why you're doing it, but... I know why you're _here_. Just promise me you'll keep them safe.”

Lucretia’s eyes widened.

“Barry, what are you...? Are you saying that...?”

He nodded sadly.

“Lup and Angus. That's who you're here to recruit.” Lucretia had never been as good as Lup and Taako at reading Barry’s emotions when he was in his lich form, but even she could see the pain. “She doesn't trust me, Luce. I don't... I can't... And... and Ango’s so big now, and he's so smart. Look, I know you're going to take them up to your fake moon base where you've got the boys. Just keep them safe. Promise me you'll protect my family and I won't stop you from taking them where I can't go.”

Lucretia’s chest felt tight and she held a hand out to him for a moment before lowering it.

“I will, I promise. And I promise this won't be forever, Barry. I'm... I'm almost done. We’ll all be back together soon.”

Before she could say anything else, before this could get worse, Lucretia turned and walked into the taproom on the first floor of the inn.

Gods, it was a good thing Barry had warned her otherwise Lucretia may well have lost her bitterly won control the moment she saw mother and son sitting at a small table laughing over something the little boy had just said. Lup hadn’t changed a bit, other than her hair growing out. She was still in her uniform, still carrying the Umbra Staff. This could have been any day during any cycle they’d lived through if it wasn’t for the little boy at her side. There was no mistaking who Angus was when you knew all the pieces, when you could see Lup in the curve of his smile and the freckles across his cheeks, when you could see Barry in the messy hair curled around his pointed ears and in the quick intelligence in his eyes. But Lucretia couldn’t dwell on that right now. She took a breath, letting her emotions flow away, and walked up to the table.

“Excuse me, I don’t mean to intrude, but I’m here to extend an invitation to you and your son. I would like to recruit both of you to join my organization.”

Lup raised an eyebrow, the gesture so familiar that Lucretia almost broke.

“Oh yeah? And what makes you think we’d be interested.”

Angus, however, looked up at Lucretia with curious eyes and then grinned.

“You work with the men from the train.” He snapped his fingers and leaned forward on the table, excited. “You know about the static.”

Lucretia knew her surprise was visible from the way Lup was grinning.

“Alright, sure, I guess we’re interested. Give us the pitch... What should we be calling you, anyway?”

Lucretia looked into the eyes of one of her best friends, practically a sister, and opened her mouth to answer.

“I am the Director.”


	8. This Part is Going to be Very Illegal

“Boys, I have another mission for you.” The Director smiled and gestured towards the figure standing at her side adjusting what was clearly a brand new bracer. “And I also have a new team member for you. I trust you all remember Lup?”

Magnus grinned broadly and held up his hand for a high-five.

“Hell yeah! From the train, with the super smart kid!”

Lup grinned and completed the high-five. Then a laugh came from behind the Director and the little boy stuck his head out, waving.

“Hello, Sirs!”

The Director smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair.

“And naturally, her son is joining us as well. Though he will be working in a research capacity while Lup joins you as a Reclaimer.”

Taako looked Lup up and down, a frown on his face. Then he shrugged.

“So, what's the sitch, Director?”

"I'm sending the four of you to Goldcliff for what should be a fairly simple mission. Although considering that your last one was literally to ride a train and pick up a package..."  
  
Magnus looked indignant but Angus was giggling again. The Director shrugged and continued.  
  
"You need to go to Goldcliff and acquire a relic known as the Gaia Sash which is currently in a possession of a criminal known as the Raven. The Gaia Sash allows...an extreme level of control over nature. The good thing for you is that she is staying in the city, rather than going into the forest where she would be a veritable goddess. So, all you need to do is track her down and get the sash back. Any questions?"  
  
The boys shrugged. No questions from them. Lup beckoned Angus over and knelt down to give him a hug.  
  
"Alright, my dude, you stay here. Killian said she'd keep an eye out for you if you need anything but I'll be back soon. If I'm not back by bedtime, she said you can stay with her if you want."  
  
Angus hugged his mother tightly.  
  
"Alright, Mama. Killian's fun and she said that maybe if I asked, Carey would show me how lock picks work."  
  
Lup laughed at that, standing back up and ruffling his hair.  
  
"Hell yeah, Ango. Sounds like fun. You’ll have to show me when I get back."

* * *

Hurley leaned forward on the table.

“What we’re going to have to do is beat Sloane in a Battle Wagons race. That’ll prove to her that she’s not unbeatable and then we can get that belt.”

Lup raised an eyebrow, grinning broadly.

“Did you just say we’re gonna get up to some Fantasy Mad Max bullshit? Hell yeah, sign me right the fuck up!”

Magus was still looking at the battle wagon, his eyes alight.

“Shotgun!”

Hurley shook her head a little, smiling.

“Great, but I’m going to need you to get one more thing for me before we’re ready to do this. And this part is going to be  _ very _ illegal. I need you to steal an arcane core from one of the other teams. That’s what we’re going to use to power this wagon, and it’ll be unbeatable.”

* * *

Angus was bouncing as he knocked on the door to Killian’s room.

“Ma’am! You’re still watching me today, right, Ma’am?”

The door opened and the sleepy looking orc smiled down at the little boy.

“Yeah, I am. But wow is it early. Come on inside, kid, and give me like... twenty minutes to get ready to actually face the world.”

Angus walked inside and sat on the floor against the wall.

“It’s alright, Ma’am. I brought a book. I’ve never been babysat before, so I wasn’t really sure what it involved.”

Killian blinked a few times.

“I don’t know, I figured you could just come to the gym while me and my Regulators train. Maybe catch some pointers. And Carey said she’d teach you some rogue stuff if you ask.”

Angus beamed at that.

“I’m gonna be a wizard like my Mom, but cross-classing a few skills could be really useful as a detective.” He opened his book carefully, setting the scrap of ribbon that served as a bookmark aside. “I’ll be here when you’re ready to go, Ma’am.”

Killian nodded and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to decide what to do with this kid. Then she shrugged and went to get dressed and washed up. She didn’t have long before it was time to start training.

* * *

“God is gonna kill you with a train!”

Lup turned to Magnus as she heard Merle yelling, one eyebrow raised.

“Mags, why  _ exactly _ did we think this was a good idea?”

Magnus was trying to stifle a laugh behind his arm and Taako was just grinning, leaning against the wall.

“Cha’boy just wanted a laugh. I sure didn’t think he could actually flip the competency switch.”

Lup rolled her eyes and shoved Taako out of her way.

“ _ Fine _ , you wanna fool around? I’m gonna go get the job done.” She strode out of the alley. When she was in front of the Hammerhead on guard, she spread her hands wide and snapped. Hands wreathed in flame, she grinned. “Hey there, how’s about you let me in or I’m going to light up the fuck up.”

* * *

Angus sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Carey and stared hard at the lock in his hands.

“And I just wiggle this? Really?”

He already had the tension key inserted into the lock and was carefully applying pressure. Carey nodded and Angus inserted the first pick.

“Yup. So what you want is to try and find the tumblers. They’re what makes the lock work. Basically, there’s some pins in there and you need to figure out how far in to push them to make them stick but not reset the whole system. Got it?”

Angus stuck out his tongue, deep in concentration.

“I think so, Ma’am. Is this strictly legal?”

Carey laughed quietly and ruffled his hair.

“Don’t worry about that. Consider it a useful life skill that you maybe shouldn’t always admit you have. Like roof running and silent assassination.”

Angus looked up at Carey, slightly alarmed. His eyes were huge behind his glasses.

“Like  _ what _ , Ma’am?”

Her laugh turned a little nervous.

“Don’t worry about it. Seriously. And maybe don’t tell your mom I said that.”

* * *

With the arcane core in the battle wagon and Hurley ready to go, Lup held her mask in her hands. Taako was saying something or other about being a full realized creation as he pulled on his mongoose mask. But no one questioned Lup’s bat mask. Why would they? Bats were intimidating if you didn’t know them. That wasn’t why she had picked a bat though. No, not at all. Lup envied bats, in a way. Bats didn’t get lost. Bats didn’t have an empty place inside them they were sure had to be filled by  _ someone. _ No. Bats could always find their colonies, could always find their way home. She pulled the mask on without a word and looked at the others.

“We ready to blow this popsicle stand, homies?”

Magnus stretched and grinned behind his bear mask.

“Yeah! Let’s do this!”

* * *

 

Barry’s eyes were on Lup as she and the boys entered Captain Bane’s office with the Gaia Sash. Fuck, it was good to see her again. She was laughing at something Magnus had said and she looked so happy. Part of him wanted to go to her, to try again to explain, but gods, she had reacted so badly last time and he wasn’t sure he could stay stable through that a second time. He would just stay nearby and keep an eye on things. That was all he could do, keep them safe. Figure out how to get them all back together.

Captain Bane poured out drinks for them all, offering a toast.

“Uh, a...a toast then. Have you guys ever toasted before?”

Magnus gave him a huge smile.

“I like toast!”

Lup was snickering, but Barry could see the way she was eyeing the glasses. Then he looked at the bottle and he knew why. Silverpoint poison. Barry cursed and turned, casting Command before anyone could change their mind and drink. He made Bane drink it and then floated into the room. In no way was Barry Bluejeans surprised when Magnus tried to punch him three times. He had to get through to them somehow. Then he realized Lup was pointing the Umbrastaff at him again and, well, it was pretty fair to say that he panicked. He wanted to tell them, tell her, not to be afraid. To find out if they were okay. Instead? 

“Are you afraid?”

Taako looked at the others and then back at Barry.

“Uh...yeah?”

Lup snorted.

“Not on your life... unlife. Whatever the fuck.”

Barry scrambled for a way to spin that around. He had to let them know about the Hunger, about the danger, about what Lucretia was trying to do, about who they really were.

“Are you afraid...of the dark?”

_ What the hell am I doing? Get your shit together, Bluejeans. _

He looked at Lup again and she raised an eyebrow. The boys were looking at each other and then back at him.

“Like... in general or?” Magnus tried, uncertainly.

Then Barry spoke more loudly.

“Are you afraid? You do not know how to be afraid.”

Merle laughed and Barry could’ve cried. They were all there. Right there. Just Davenport and Lucretia were missing, and Angus of course. But he knew where they all were and... and it was just so much.

“Gundren Rockseeker. Magic Brian. Jenkins. Sloane. Captain Bane.” He held out his hand and illusions of each person appeared as he said their name. “This is the true nature of man. The want, the hunger, it consumes everything it touches, it can’t be stopped or changed. It’s the end of everything. This is your first lesson.”

For a second, he looked at each of them, committing their faces to his mind once more, trying to learn the new lines that had formed in the decade they’d been apart. His eyes lingered on Lup the longest and then he smiled sadly before vanishing in a puff of flame.

Magnus turned to the others and pointed at where Barry had been.

“Okay... What the fuuuck was that?”


	9. Are You, Perhaps, Looking For a Deal?

Madame Director leaned forward, a look of deep concern on her face. Taako was nodding as Magnus explained.

“He might’ve been a ghost?”

Then Lup cut in.

“That wasn’t a ghost, my dude. That was a lich, and I’ve seen him before.”

All eyes were on Lup then, and if anyone noticed the alarm on the Director’s face, they said nothing.

“He turned up a few years ago when Angus and I were on our own. He knew my name, knew Angus’ name. Talked about how the stars aren’t right and some weirdo Cthulhu shit. But he didn’t talk like he did this time, all creepy echo boy. That time was more normal and he just sounded like a real big nerd.” She frowned then. “And he kept talking static, but I don’t remember what was saying. Like, the Voidfish ichor didn’t clear it up?”

She turned to the Director questioningly and for a moment, the woman was quiet. Then she nodded.

“It should have, yes. Unless of course, the Red Robes found another way to obscure things, to keep secrets even from people who are inoculated.”

Magnus frowned.

“But if they can do that... Then there could be all kinds of things we don’t know.”

The Director nodded and stood.

“I’ll look into it immediately. Thank you, Lup. And of course, here is your payment.”

* * *

Angus frowned as he looked at the notes he had put up on his corkboard. Then he grabbed the red string he’d asked for. There was something here, something bigger and deeper than one little boy could hold in his head all at once. He started connecting points, marking the things he knew and the things he didn’t. Taako and Mom, the Director and the Red Robes, the Red Robe Lich and Mom, the Red Robes and the Relics. With a sigh, Angus realized what he had to do next. The only way he was going to get the answers he needed was if he talked to the Red Robe. Angus looked back. His Mom was out training with the other Reclaimers, so he had a chance now if he wanted to take it. Or he could confront the Director with what he knew. Was that a good idea? Probably not. Then his eyes widened with excitement. He had a better plan. Angus grabbed the little bag of gold coins that was his allowance from his pack and ran across the quad to the Fantasy Costco. It was time to make a deal.

* * *

 

The doors of Fantasy Costco slid open as Angus walked up to them and he heard the jingle play from somewhere.

_ “Fantasy Costco where all your dreams come true. Got a deal for you~” _

Taking a breath, he looked around. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find Garfield. Then he just had to figure out the right way to get what he wanted without giving up too much. He wandered around, poking into things until he heard a voice behind him.

**_“HELLO THERE, LITTLE BOY. ARE YOU, PERHAPS, LOOKING FOR A DEAL?”_ **

Angus gulped, unnerved by the unknowable, indescribable creature in front of him. Then he took a breath.

“I’m actually looking for information, Sir. But I doubt you have what I’m looking for.”

Garfield the Deals Warlock gasped, looking shocked.

“ **_INFORMATION? I’M CERTAIN I CAN FIND WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR. THERE’S JUST THE MATTER OF... COST.”_ **

Angus nodded and held up his bag.

“I do have gold, Sir. I need to know about my Mom and Mr. Taako. Why does she look like him? She said it’s just because they’re both High Elves and I haven’t seen that many other High Elves, but I don’t think so. And neither does Mr. Magnus. They look exactly alike. Like... like...”

Garfield nodded, an unnerving smile crossing his face.

“ **_AHHH, OF COURSE. YOU NOTICED A BIG MYSTERY FOR A LITTLE BOY, AND THE ANSWER TO THAT WILL COST YOU A PRETTY PENNY. BUT NOT GOLD. GOLD IS FOR TRIFLES, ANGUS. I WANT SOMETHING FAR MORE VALUABLE TO ME THAN GOLD.”_ **

Taking a breath, Angus looked up at him.

“Only if the information is useful to me. If it’s... if it’s hidden or I can’t remember or it’s not important, then I don’t want to pay a lot.”

He was trying to sound braver than he was and trying to stay a step ahead of the Deals Warlock. Garfield’s smile turned unnerving, edging far beyond what a mouth should encompass.

“ **_IT IS AS IMPORTANT AS ANY OTHER PART OF YOUR MYSTERY, ANGUS WHO DOESN’T KNOW HIS OWN LAST NAME, AND IF YOU WANT THIS FIRST ANSWER, THEN I WANT A SAMPLE OF YOUR BLOOD.”_ **

Angus pulled his hands behind his back and took a step back.

“You want what??”

“ **_JUST A SAMPLE. NOTHING MORE._ ** ”

Angus was conflicted. He knew as well as any level one wizard that there was a lot you could do with blood but at the same time, he needed this now more than ever. Garfield had, whether he meant to or not, given Angus another mystery, more questions, and a taste of something important. After a long moment, Angus held his hand out. 

“Fine.”

Garfield pressed a knife into Angus’ hand and held out a vial.

“ **_PAYMENT FIRST, AND THEN YOU WILL GET YOUR INFORMATION._ ** ”

Angus gulped and pressed the knife to his thumb, letting a few drops of blood drip into the vial. Then he held it out with shaking hands. When Garfield took it, static fell into Angus’ mind. For a moment, he could only hear screaming and static and screaming and static. When it cleared, he was alone on his knees in a Fantasy Costco. And then... and then the static cleared. He knew that it shouldn’t have, that this clarity was what he had bought and paid for. Breathing hard, he pulled himself back to his feet.

“Uncle... He’s...he’s my uncle. Uncle Taako. And... and Mom’s twin brother?”

It didn’t make any sense, but it was true. He knew it was true. He also knew that no one else would be able to hear him say it unless they were immune to whatever the Red Robes had done to hide the connection. Which raised another important question, why would the Red Robes care if Taako and Mom knew they were twins? Angus just didn’t know.


	10. Bits and Pieces

Angus dropped into the empty seat beside Taako and looked up at him with curiosity. His uncle.  _ His _ uncle. He had more family than just Mom. Which, alright, he’d known in a fairly abstract way that he must have a Dad or something out there somewhere, but Mom had literally never mentioned anyone else. In fact, she’d described her life before Angus has having been outcast and alone. But she had a twin? That was confusing and Angus wasn’t entirely sure what to do with that information. Right now, he would focus on what he had: Taako. 

“Excuse me, Sir? I was wondering...”

Taako leaned back, slowly unpeeling an orange.

“S’up, Agnes.”

Angus sighed a little.

“It’s Angus, Sir. And I was wondering, you’re... you’re a wizard and um... Well, Mom’s been teaching me magic, but she specializes in Evocation and I was just wondering if maybe you could teach me something else.”

Taako peered down at Angus and popped a slice of orange into his mouth. For a long moment, they sat there in silence while Taako ate and Angus fidgeted uncertainly. Then Taako grinned.

“You came to the right elf, bubbeleh. Cha’boy specializes in basically the raddest kind of magic out there: transmutation.”

Angus lit up. This was his chance! He could learn something new and get to know Taako and maybe find a clue to what happened and... and...

“What’s transmutation, Sir?”

“Hachi machi.” Taako put a hand to his forehead dramatically. “And your mom calls herself a  _ wizard _ . Transmutation is basically the coolest shit. Evocation just blows things up, lights them on fire, whatever. Transmutation let’s you change one thing into another.”

Angus had pulled out his little Caleb Cleveland spellbook.

“Can you turn anything into anything, Sir? Or are there limitations?”

Taako shrugged a little and pulled a wand out of his pocket. He tapped it on one of the small bowls that sat empty on the table. It rippled for a moment, turning from wood to stone.

“Like that. Could’ve turned it to gold or silver or whatever.”

Angus pulled out his own wand with its little star at the end.

“Can you show me, Sir?”

Taako laughed.

“You gotta start with the basics. That your spellbook?”

Angus slid the book over to Taako and he started flipping through it. While he was distracted, Angus leaned forward. 

“How did you learn magic, Sir?”

He really was curious, but if it was what he suspected...

“Here and there. Learned bits and pieces on the road as a kid.”

Angus nodded excitedly. Not only was it practically the same story as Mom but almost the same words. There was no way they didn’t know each other. But that raised the same question as before. What danger was there in Taako and Mom remembering that they were twins? Why didn’t the Red Robes want them to remember? What else could the Red Robes be hiding if they could hide something as intrinsically part of someone as having a twin? Emotions bubbled up in him then as he realized that maybe, just maybe, the Red Robes had the answer to another question he’d never asked, a question his Mom had never even hinted at an answer to. Maybe, just maybe, the Red Robes knew who his father was.

Taako flipped to the next blank page in the spellbook and slid it back to Angus. 

“Ready to learn something neat?” Angus nodded excitedly and Taako continued on. “Natch. Okay, get up on the table.”

Angus had started to stand and blinked a few times, staring at Taako.

“Uh... What, Sir?”

“Get up on the table. Cha’boy is gonna teach you Feather Fall and that means you need to be up high enough that it matters. You can’t feather fall from the ground.”

Angus scrambled up onto the table and turned to look at Taako with a huge grin on his face.

“What do I do now, Sir?”

* * *

The next stop on Angus’ list of places to go to look for answers was the Director’s office. This one was going to be hard though. He had to find a way to sneak in while everyone else was distracted, including Madame Director. He waited until a morning when she was overseeing the Reclaimers training with the Regulators, made sure that Davenport was at her side, and snuck down to her office with his brand new lockpicks in his pocket.

When he arrived at her door, though, it stood open. Frowning, he walked inside just in time to see Robbie walk through another door in the back of the room. Angus closed the door to the office as quietly as he could and followed after. He found Robbie standing in the midst of a circle of twelve pedestals, each with an orb on it.

“I must have to activate them in the correct order...”

The voice that came from Robbie’s mouth wasn’t his and Angus frowned. He would recognize that voice anywhere. He raised his wand, pointing it at the halfling in front of him.

“You’re not Pringles. You’re the lich from before. The Red Robe.”

Robbie turned around, reaching to adjust glasses he wasn’t wearing.

“Shi-mmmm. Uh... It’s... It’s okay, I’m just checking something for Lucre- The Director.”

Angus took a step closer, not lowering his wand an inch.  
"I don't believe you, Sir."

The Red Robe in Robbie’s body sighed.

“Angus, I can’t explain right now but this is... this important, okay?”

Angus kept his wand up and bit his lower lip, wishing he knew how to cast Zone of Truth. He would make sure he learned that as soon as he could. 

“I could yell and everyone would come running and they’d catch you.”

The Red Robe flinched, raiding a hand in entreaty.

“Don’t do that. Please? Shit... I mean... Look, you know something’s going on, don’t you? Otherwise, you would’ve yelled the second you knew I wasn’t this Pringles guy. I wish I could explain more but-“

Angus cut him off, taking a step closer.

“If it’s a Red Robe memory spell, why don’t you just take it down? Why are you blocking Mom from knowing who Taako is? Who  _ are _ you? Why did you make the Grand Relics anyway? Are you guys really evil?”

Taking a step back, the Red Robe’s eyes widened.

“E-evil?” He put his head in his hands. “Lucretia, what are you telling them?” With a concerted effort, he looked back at the orbs. “I didn’t put up any... any memory blocking spell, but I guess she is right in a way. One of us did. I can make some guesses about why Lup doesn’t remember Taako, but I don’t know that I can... explain exactly. I don’t know what you can hear and what you can’t. Just... you need to trust me, okay, Ango?”

Angus looked at the Red Robe oddly and lowered his wand, walking closer.

“That’s what Mom calls me.”

The Red Robe was smiling now, still looking at the orbs.

“Yeah, I know, buddy.”

Angus took another step closer to the Red Robe. He didn’t seem dangerous, but he also hadn’t answered most of the questions.

“Sir, how do you know my mom?”

The Red Robe shook his head.

“I uh... I know for a fact you won’t be able to hear me if I try to explain that one, buddy. Don’t get me wrong, I want to. Real bad. I just... can’t.” He went to adjust non-existent glasses again and then smiled. “Okay, I think I’ve got it figured out. Angus, you should go. Before uh... before someone shows up and I get caught or something. I don’t want them to think that... that you’re working with me or anything.”

Angus hesitated for just a moment, filing away what he’d learned. There was something right there, an answer trying to take shape in his mind. He knew that the connection between Madame Director and the Red Robes was deeper than he’d thought, and between his Mom and the Red Robes. He just couldn’t make that final leap. It was starting to give him a headache. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Seriously, before you get in trouble. Go.”

Angus took one last look around the room, noting as many details as he could. Then he turned and ran.

* * *

Barry watched his son run out of the room and smiled, glad he’d gotten a moment to talk to him at least.

“I’m real proud of you, Ango.”

He whispered it as he turned back to the puzzle before him. He had to get to bottom of what Lucretia was doing before he could have his family back. 


	11. Candlenights!

“Angus!” Lup had a huge smile on her face as she woke her son on the morning of Candlenights. “I’ve got pancakes on the stove. They’re _gingerbread_.”

Angus sat up fast, grinning as he reached for his glasses.

“Did you make the frosting too, Mom?”

Lup scooped him up in her arms and swung him around once before setting him on his feet.

“As if I’d make gingerbread without the frosting!”

Angus ran to the table and dropped into his seat, practically bouncing until Lup set the plate in front of him.

“Dig in, little dude. We’re having a whole big party tonight for the Bureau, to break in the new pad. We’ll give out gifts then too. Buuuut I got you something special and I thought you might like it early.”

She reached for the wrapped package sitting on the counter and put it near Angus. He looked up at her with a big smile.

“Thanks, Mom! I’ll open it when I finish eating, okay?”

She ruffled his hair.

“Absolutely, my dude. You finish up and I’m gonna clean up.”

Angus spread the sugary frosting over his pancakes with a huge smile and started eating while Lup gathered up the dishes to start washing.

“Are the other Reclaimers going to be there?”

Lup glances over at him.

“You really like them, don’t you? Yeah, they’ll be around. It’s their suite too.”

Angus nodded. Maybe that would give him another chance to get Taako to talk to Mom. Maybe this time they would realize, or at least stop fighting.

Finishing up his breakfast, Angus slid off his seat and brought the plate over to his Mom. She ruffled his hair and dropped it into the sink.

“Ready for present time, my dude?”

“Hell yeah!”

Lup laughed as he ran back to the table to grab the messily wrapped package. He sat on the floor and she dropped down to sit cross-legged next to him. Angus tore at the wrapping paper and then lifted out a jacket of sturdy blue denim that was just a little big for him. He pulled it on and Lup helped him cuff the sleeves so they didn’t cover his hands.

“I got it a little big so you can grow into it. Get a few years out of something, y’know?” She hesitated then. “You like it, right?”

Angus pulled the jacket tight around him, feeling oddly right.

“Yeah, Mom. I love it.”

He smiled at her and tackled her in a hug. Lup caught him and flipped him upside down as she stood. Angus was laughing, squirming as he tried to get free. With a whoop, Lup tossed him onto the couch in their room and he lay there laughing for a long while.

* * *

Angus was sitting by the Candlenights Bush quietly reading the newest Caleb Cleveland novel while the adults talked. Somehow, when told there would be a party, Angus hadn’t exactly imagined that this much of it would just be people wandering around with little drinks he couldn’t have talking quietly. This was Candlenights, right? Wasn’t it supposed to be fun? Then he noticed the mood in the room shift. The Director was holding the stone of her necklace and speaking tensely. Carefully, he closed his book and moved closer.

“I think I have a solution for that. Um, Lucretia?”

Lucretia? Wasn’t that what the Red Robe had almost called her? So, the Red Robe knew the Director’s real name. That meant... something. Dammit, why couldn’t he think this through? It was like every time he started to get close to something, his mind would turn to molasses.

“Stop doing that. Stop- it’s Madame Director.”

“Okay, Madame Director, I think you’re gonna need to use the null suits, and I’m going to need them to bring me one, too.”

Angus stopped suddenly, his eyes wide. He couldn’t think of certain things. That was it. He couldn’t fill in the missing pieces but he could fill in the whole way around them. It was like doing a puzzle from the outside in. He just had to find all the edges first.

Lup turned around and spotted Angus. She waved him over and looked at him seriously.

“Ango, come here. Me and the boys’ve got a mission, and it’s a big one. I need you to stay here and help Madame Director, okay?”

Angus glanced uncertainly at the Director and then nodded, trying not to show his distrust.

“Okay, Mom. Be careful.”

He hugged her tightly and she picked him up, hugging him back.

“Don’t you worry one bit, my little dude. I’ll be back soon.”

* * *

Lucretia watched as the Reclaimers and Regulators headed off on their mission and then looked at the small boy at her side. It wasn’t until now that she noticed the new jacket he was holding tight around him. She felt cold and for just a moment, she was back on the deck of the Starblaster with Barry staring into her soul. She could almost hear his voice.

“ _Lucretia, what did you_ _do_?”

She shook her head to clear it and glanced back at the glass cannonball that bore the rest of her family. Did Lup remember something? Was it possible? No. Not unless she was in her lich form. She wouldn’t remember unless she was a lich.

“What was that, Angus?”

Angus turned away from watching them leave and looked up at her.

“I’m ready to go, Ma’am.”

They walked together back to Lucretia’s office. For a long while, Angus was quiet. Then he looked up again. Lucretia had to consciously put iron in her spine when she looked down at that mop of curly and those brown eyes.

“Ma’am, how can I help them? Mom said it’s important and you said I could help before.”

“Well, Angus,” She said slowly. “My hope is that if the Reclaimers need any help while they’re inside the Millers’ lab, you’ll be on a Stone of Farspeech and available to help. Think you can do that?”

Angus brightened at that, giving her a huge smile.

“Yes, Ma’am! I absolutely can!”

Lucretia watched as he picked up his pace a little, almost skipping towards her office. She couldn’t help but smile sadly. Soon enough, she thought. Soon enough, this would be over and they could find Barry again. Then their family could be back together. Soon just couldn’t come fast enough.


	12. Radio Silence

Lup grimaced, looking around the lab they’d arrived in. Pink tourmaline surrounded them on all sides and it would have been almost pretty if it wasn’t a nightmarish, creeping hellscape. She could feel Taako tense at her back and wondered not for the first time why she was so attuned to him. Maybe it was an Elf thing? Magnus turned to look at them from inside his null-suit. 

“Okay, we need to get the Relic and make sure no one gets hurt.” He looked around. “From what they said...”

Then a voice broke through on their Stones of Farspeech.

“Hello, Sir! I’ve got a map pulled up and a route so you can avoid most of the crystal.”

Angus was grinning, Lup could hear it in his voice, and she was so proud of him. Some of the tension left Taako’s shoulders and Lup wondered if maybe he’d just been worried about that. But there was a look in his eyes that was hard for her to read, almost like someone who’s seen a war. Like he was staring at a distant horror only he saw. Then he grinned and it was gone.

“Oh hell yeah, kid. So, which way?”

They heard the sound of paper rustling and then Angus started to explain directions. At the same time, a pink mote of crystal appeared in the air and they heard music. Magnus and Lup exchanged a look. Taako didn’t wait. He was off and running for the airlock Angus was talking about the moment the mote appeared. Magnus grabbed Merle by the arm and they all slammed through the airlock door.

“Okay, that’s gonna be a problem.”

Magnus looked back through the window and winced. The crystal was already spreading.

* * *

 

They were trying to catch their breaths in the next room when crystal shards began to fly together. Lup raised the Umbrastaff, pointing towards the spot where they were converging. The crystals combined together, slowly creating a fifteen-foot tall golem crafted entirely from pink tourmaline. Taako blinked a few times and then stepped forward towards the creature.

“Hail and well met! My name is Taako and you look like you’re made a salt.”

The golem looked the four of them over for a long moment, investigating each of them carefully. For a long moment, it was in Merle’s face, almost growling. Then the crystalline head snapped up and it turned to look at Lup.  
_“You.”_

Lup pulled back, keeping the Umbrastaff up between her and the golem. Still, she had a wry grin on her face as she responded gleefully.

“Me?”

The golem roared and launched itself at Lup. Magnus intercepted, throwing his shield up to stop the headlong charge. Merle raised a hand and a green glow suffused the room for a moment before a woman appeared before them in armor with a sword and shield decorated with the pipes of Pan. She swung at the golem, her weapon glowing with a blinding radiance. The golem recoiled and Taako raised his wand, shouting a single word. The golem’s arm exploded, shattered into a thousand pieces that skittered across the floor.

“Don’t let them touch you!” yelled Magnus.

The golem shook and began to crumble. A light shot out of it as it collapsed to the floor and Taako grinned. 

“Boom, bitches.”

Lup rolled her eyes and grabbed Taako by the arm.

“Come on, dingus, before you get turned into a salt lick.”

Magnus looked up at one of the doors and threw it open.

“Magical World of Elevators. Let’s go. Everybody in.”

Lup shoved Taako through the door after Magnus and Merle followed after them as the door shut behind them. Inside were elevators. Just row upon row of elevators set up like a dusty museum. Lup turned a slow circle, looking at all of them.

“I don’t know what this is, but I don’t like it at all. So how about we just... keep moving. And maybe... don’t. Any of this.”

Taako looked around and grimaced.

“I’m with her for once. Cha’boy is done with elevators.”

Magnus rolled his eyes and pulled out his Stone of Farspeech.

“Hey Ango, any idea which way we should go now? Or what the hell is attacking us in here?”

There was a moment of silence before Angus spoke up from his end.

“Well, Sir, I’m looking at a map but what do you mean attacked? Are you okay? Is Mom okay?”

Lup leaned against Magnus and grabbed his arm, pulling his Stone of Farspeech closer.

“We’re rad, little dude. Don’t you worry about a thing. But yeah, there was like this big crystal thing and-”

“And cha’boy blew it to shit, so don’t worry about that thing, kemosabe.”

Lup shoved Taako away from her.

“As I was  _ saying _ , there was this big crystal thing and there was a light in it that vanished through like a portal when the crystal got blown up. It definitely wasn’t a lich but it could be some other kind of undead, right? Any ideas?”

Angus was quiet for a long moment. 

“Well, Mom, that’s not... Ghosts can’t really do that, right? But I’ll start cracking the books and see what I can find out. Be careful, okay?”

She heard a note of entreaty in his voice and smiled a little.

“I will, buddy. I love you, Ango.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

* * *

Angus examined the map in front of him, chewing on a pen cap. He had a large book sitting next to him and periodically, he would flip through it trying to find some reference to the light they had mentioned. Picking up his Stone of Farspeech, he traced a path on the map with his finger.

“Mom, are you there?”

“Reading you loud and clear, little dude.”

Angus smiled brightly. He’d been nervous when the Director had asked him to help with this, but so far it had been going great. He really liked getting to work with his mom and, by extension, Uncle Taako. 

“Okay, so the next intersection you’re going to get to should say Radiation Ventilation Maintenance Chamber and  The Li’l Genius Buddy-Bot R’n’D. You want to go towards the Buddy-Bot. Got it, Mom?”

There was a pause before she responded and Angus had started chewing on his pen again.

“Got it, Ango. You’re doing a great job. I’m proud of you.”

Angus felt a hot blush burning right up the little points of his ears and he pulled his cap down over his face.

“ _ Moooom!” _

He was secretly pleased despite his complaining. Even still, he was almost eleven and almost-eleven year olds didn’t need that kind of validation. Right? He set the Stone of Farspeech down and went back to skimming through the book. There had to be something here to explain that weird light. Weak to radiant damage. So, probably undead. But capable of creating a rift in space? That wasn’t anything he knew. Angus chewed his lower lip and considered going to the Director. There was every chance that she might know. He picked the book up and started to stand when his Stone of Farspeech beeped. The book dropped back down to the table as he grabbed the stone with both hands.

“Mom?”

Magnus laughed on the other end, almost uncomfortably.

“Nope, sorry, bud. It’s me. Hey uh, so we found that bot thing and-”

Taako interjected suddenly.

“Angus! Are you... Hey listen, are you down here? Cause I swear to shit there’s a robot down here that sounds exactly like you.”

Angus looked confused for a second.

“Um, no Sir, I’m... I’m still on the moon. And I’m not a robot, Sir. I’m a real flesh boy.”

Angus could hear a tussle in the background while he was talking and suddenly another voice came on the line. 

“Hey buddy, I don’t suppose you could help us out with this trivia bot before Mags here makes it angry again.”

There was a thud in the background and Angus could hear the muffled sound of yelling.

“Mags! Don’t try to  _ murder _ homicide-bot. You’re gonna give it ideas.” She must have been covering her Stone of Farspeech because then her voice came in perfectly clearly. “Anyway, this thing keeps asking us like... questions, right?”

Angus brightened, a huge smile crossing his face.

“Oh! Like a puzzle game!”

“Exactly, my dude. Think you could answer some of these bad boys for us?”

Angus shoved his book away, still holding his Stone of Farspeech with both hands.

“Absolutely, Mom!”

Angus closed his eyes tightly, just listening for the sounds of the little robot on the other side. He pictured it small and cute. Maybe round and friendly, with a big smile.

“Spell Aarakocra.”

Oh, that was an easy one! Angus grinned. He had this for sure.

“A-A-R-A-K-O-C-R-A.”

Lup spelled it back and Angus heard the little beep of success. Perfect. Then he heard an error sound through the stone.

“Please wait. Error detected. Outside communication detected. You four aren’t cheating, are you?”

There was a squealing sound and Angus dropped his Stone of Farspeech, throwing his hands over his ears as he screamed. The sound  _ hurt _ . The moment it stopped, he scrambled for the stone again.

“Mom? Mom, are you there?”

He waited.

“Mom?”

Nothing. Silence. Not even the hum of the stone when it was connected and the other person wasn’t talking. Just silence.

“Mom?!”

Angus was shaking now, staring at his Stone of Farspeech in abject horror. He got up so fast that he knocked his chair over and for once in his life didn’t stop to right it. He just sprinted as fast as he could to the Director and held up the Stone of Farspeech. There were tear tracks smeared on his cheeks as he looked up at her.

“M-Ma’am. I...I... They’re not... They’re not answering. Mom isn’t... What did I do wrong, Ma’am?”

The Director put one hand to her mouth, her own eyes wide with concern.

“Angus, what happened?”

He was shaking too badly to respond and then suddenly, much to his surprise, the Director dropped to her knees and hugged him tightly.

“They’ll be alright, Angus. They’re always alright...in the end. They have to be.”


	13. What's Bigger Than This?

The Reclaimers could all agree on one thing, none of them ever wanted to see  _ Hodge Podge _ ever again. Lup was following behind the others, continually trying to Stone of Farspeech. 

“Come on... come on...”

Magnus turned around as they got to the next door. He had a sad, understanding look on her face. Resting a hand on her shoulder, he nodded towards the stone.

“I know you’re worried, Lup, but we need to focus. It’s like... it’s like Julia always said. If you’re too worried about what happened or what might happen, you’re guaranteeing that something worse is coming.”

Lup nodded slowly and put the Stone of Farspeech away.

“It’s not... I mean, I know Ango is fine. He’s as safe as he could be with the Director but he doesn’t know that  _ we’re _ okay. And like, Magnus? It’s just him and me. If he thinks...”

Magnus pulled Lup into a tight hug.

“We’ll go home soon. We just need to finish this up and we can go home.”

Taako turned around, leaning against the airlock door.

“Are you two chucklefucks done having emotions? Cha’boy would like to get out of here before the crystal starts singing bullshit again.”

Magnus looked at Lup, taking one last second to make sure she was alright. She took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“When we finish this mission, I swear to  _ whatever _ , that I am going to kick his ass six ways from Sunday.”

Then she rested her Umbrastaff on her shoulder and followed after them through the door.

* * *

Lucretia held the sobbing child in her arms and let her professional walls fall. Her own heart of pounding with worry, her mind racing with plans. At the same time, a memory sprung unbidden into her mind. It was the first time she’d held him, back on the Starblaster. He’d been crying then too. He had cried a lot in those first weeks, especially if the person holding him wasn’t Lup or Barry, or Taako.

Smoothing a hand over his hair, she tried to quietly reassure him. They were fine. They would be fine. It was probably a communications issue. The Reclaimers... Magnus, Merle, Taako, Lup, they were all fine. They would come home soon. Gods, but what if they weren’t? Angus seemed so small as he curled up against her and sniffed, trying to dry his face. Ten years wasn’t much for a half-elf, was it? What would she do if the Reclaimers didn’t come back? She couldn’t protect him alone, she couldn’t do any of this alone. And her plan would have stolen so much more from this little boy.

Angus had pulled the collar of his denim jacket up, hiding his face in the fabric. Was that what was calming him down? Scent was a powerful trigger for memory, even for things you’d forgotten. Could it...? Could he...? Lucretia brushed his messy curls back from his face and wondered, not for the first time, just how much she had stolen from him and just how much he remembered. 

* * *

_ Fucking nerdlord _ .

Lup and the other Reclaimers followed Lucas Miller into the room containing the device he called the Cosmoscope. 

“Okay, I’m about to get into some pretty heavy concepts. Um, I’m probably going to blow your whole mind and just kinda reshape the way you think about existence and stuff. So if it ever gets to be too much or you have any questions, please feel free to stop me, okay?”

From there, Lup had basically tuned him out. If there was one thing in this universe she was  _ not _ down for, it was being spoken down to and this guy was basically the world champion of pedantry. Instead, she was looking the device over. It was pretty neat, actually. Seeing the world, the planes, the planar system. It was oddly... Well, it probably  _ should _ have been awe inspiring or a religious experience or  _ something _ . Instead, it was oddly comforting. 

“This is what I was working on. This is what I was using the Philosopher’s Stone for. Is to create the cosmoscope which I could use to see the whole planar system, and, Merle, you asked a very important question earlier that I would also like to circle back to!”

Lup sighed a little and started to turn back to paying attention to Lucas when the scene suddenly froze around them and she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

“What’s bigger than this?”

She turned around to see the same red robed spectre, the lich, the one that knew things about her and absolutely shouldn’t...and Magnus was goofing around pretending he was inside it.

“Look, you guys, I’m a red robe.”

Something about that made her oddly uncomfortable. There was something there, right on the tip of her tongue, something about Magnus’ words and the look of discomfort on the lich’s face. And since when could she read the emotions on a skull? The lich floated further up, out of Magnus’ reach, and spoke again.

“I spoke to you about the hunger of all living things.” He turned, raising a skeletal hand towards the diagram of the planar system. “This is the power it seeks. The power of creation itself. A billion billion lives have been devoured by this hunger in pursuit of its power. There is no more running, there is no escape. This world is life’s last chance.”

He looked right at Lup when he said that last part and she knew somehow that he meant something more than that, meant something both more and less than those grande words of saving the world. Something small but nevertheless important and earth-shattering. She just didn’t know what it was.

“Who are you?”

Lup and Magnus spoke at the same time. The lich looked almost sad as he responded.

“It’s not time for me to tell you that yet.” He paused for just a moment. “You four are on-” And then he stopped again, panic in his eyes. “Lup, oh shit, you don’t know and he’s here and... Listen to me, this is important. Whatever you do, whatever the Reaper says-”

“The Reaper?” Taako interrupted, raising an eyebrow. “As in the Grim Reaper, homie?”

The lich sighed.

“Yes, Taako, and listen to me. He’s going to know about-” 

His words dissolved into static and Lup began to wonder. Why would the Red Robe be trying to warn her about something if he had also hidden that something? Was it possible the one concealing things from her wasn’t the Red Robe? Who else could it be? But before she could open her mouth to ask a question, the Red Robe was gone.

“Okay, did anyone get  _ any _ of that?”

And then Lucas extended an arm towards the Cosmoscope.

“What’s bigger than this?”

Yeah, it sounded a lot less cool when he said it.

* * *

Killian and Carey had some real bad timing. That was official. Lup had made this decision about three seconds after a panel in her null suit had suddenly shocked her. Yeah, today absolutely could have gone better. One hundred percent.

"Did we just get betrayed by the nerdlord?"

Magnus was trying to fight to get standing again and he grimaced.

"Yeah, it's looking that way."

That was when they heard a sound like fabric ripping in the air and a figure appeared.

"Well, this is hardly fair."

Lup managed to turn and saw a handsome man standing in front of them. He was wearing a dark suit and held a scythe in one hand.

"I've been looking for you four for a while. We've got... a lot to talk about. And there are crimes you lot need to answer for."

For just a flash, Taako looked like he was panicking and Lup jumped in. She felt like she had to, like she had to protect him.

"Haven't committed any crimes I know about, homie. But uh... if you wanna just list those out, then maybe we can see if you're full of shit or not."

The man turned slowly to look at her and a book appeared in the air beside him. He looked at her for a long moment and then down at the book.

"You go last, Lup. You're pretty fucking high on my shit list."

"Well, excuuuse me, Princess."

First, he turned to Taako.

"Are you Taako?"

Taako gave him a wry grin.

"That's right, I'm Taako, you know, from TV? What's your name, thug, because I'm about to tentacle your dick."

He had managed to get free and was pointing his wand at the man. Lup shook her head, managing to pull herself to her feet now. She raised the Umbrastaff to point at him as well.

"My name... is Kravitz. And the four of you are wanted death criminals."

Magnus pulled Railsplitter as he stood, moving between the man and the others.

"Uh... yeah, how about no?"

Kravitz pinched the bridge of his nose.

"How about the four of you cut the goofs. You've all died without visiting the Astral Plane and... and I can't even believe I'm saying this but my book here says that she is-"

His words dissolved into static and Lup gave him an unimpressed look.

"My dude, I don't like it when the weirdo lich with no social skills goes white noise on me and I'm sure as fuck not taking it from you either. I'm what now?"

He tried again but they only heard static.

"So... what you're telling me is that I'm on trial for crimes I don't fucking remember? Rad. Well, you know what?" Lup grinned and tapped the tip of the Umbrastaff on the ground. "I plead fucking invisible."

Taako started laughing and cast Evard's Black Tentacles at Kravitz before turning to run. 

"Maggie, we gotta get the stone. Grab the old man. Cha'boy is out."

Lup was already moving towards the Philospher's Stone and she grabbed it, shoving it into Magnus' hands as quickly as she could. Taako tossed him the Glutton's Fork like some kind of ridiculous silverware-based hail mary pass and Magnus grinned. With a tap, the Stone seemed to change and he popped that bad boy right into his mouth. Kravitz stared at them in awe and horror for a long moment. Then he raised his scythe again, breaking free of the tentacles.

"You four are coming with me, right now. There is something very wrong with all of you and you need to be locked up, for everyone's sake."

Taako raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"Oh yeah? Locked up with you, handsome?"

Kravitz ignored that and looked at his book.

"Let's see, let's see. We'll start with you, Taako. You've died 8 times. 8 times without checking into the Astral Plane once. Magnus Burnsides, you've died 19 times. 19 fucking times. Again, zero trips to the Astral Plane. Merle Highchurch. Merle... Merrrrrllllllle fuckin' Highchurch. You, my dear friend, care to take a guess? Care to wager a guess? Merle Highchurch, the richest bounty I've ever hunted. You, my dear man, have died 57 times. Fifty-fucking-seven times." Then he turned very slowly towards Lup. "I'm not even going to bother counting the number of times that you've died because you... you had the audacity to defy the natural order of life and death itself. You are-"

The stream of static that came out of him then was full of colorful invective and Lup would have been almost impressed if she wasn't so annoyed with the static.

"I can't allow you to stay out there, you have to know that, but there's no reason for you to die violently. Just come— just come with me, go— come in easy, please."

He changed then, his handsome face disappearing to reveal instead a skull. Taako looked surprised and then grinned again.

"You know, I will say, if you wanted to lure me in there, you should've stayed handsome, my fella."

Lup rolled her eyes even though Taako couldn't see her. She was so incredibly done with this elf. They had the stone, it was definitely time to go home. And then she noticed the undead creature, Legion, surging towards the Reaper.

"Yeah, that's not gonna fly."

She raised the Umbrastaff and blasted it with a scorching ray. They could hear the singing again and Lup was pretty sure things were about to break bad up in here.

* * *

Somehow, somehow, they made it through. One loss in the form of Boyland, one gain in the form of No-3113 and Lucas Miller was going into hiding. Which, honestly, she could live with. If she never saw that scrawny nerd again, it would be too soon. And the best part, they were almost home. Okay, sure they were going to have to get a Grand Relic out of Magnus which was a pretty awful thought, but they were headed home and none of them were getting dragged to baby ghost jail or anything. The transit canon landed in the hangar and Lup was the first one out of her seat and out the door. Angus slammed into her the moment she had both feet on the ground and she dropped to her knees, hugging him tightly.

"It's okay, Ango. It's okay, I promise. You did great. You did more than great. You were amazing."

"Mom, I thought you died! I thought... I thought... I thought it was my fault."

For a moment, her thoughts flicked back to Kravitz's words. Defying the natural order of life and death. Well, if she had, she was probably okay with that. She looked down at Angus, his little, pointed ears flicked as far back as they could. Half-elf ears weren't near as expressive as the longer ears of full Elves, but she could still recognize the distress he was in. Her own ears drooped and she kissed the top of his head.

"You didn't, baby. I promise. You did exactly what we asked you to and you did a great job."

She looked up and saw the Director coming towards them.

"Did you retrieve the Philosopher's Stone?"

Magnus rubbed the back of his neck almost sheepishly.

"Yup, that we did." He paused for a moment and then had the good grace to look embarrassed. "I-I ate it."

For a long moment, the Director said nothing. Then a look crossed her face that said in a way words couldn't that, while she hadn't exactly been expecting him to say that, that it certainly wasn't out of the realm of possibilities. Lup had to wonder what the boys could possibly have been up to before she and Angus signed on that could leave the Director thinking 'of course Magnus ate a Grand Relic' like this was just a normal thing that happened. 

"While you all play the shittiest game of fantasy Operation on Maggie, I'm gonna go get the smartest kid in the whole universe some ice cream. If that's cool with all of you?"

The Director nodded.

"Drop by later for your payment, Lup."

Lup picked Angus up with a little grunt of effort. He really was getting too big for this and she honestly didn't care. Today had been rough on both of them.

"Yeah, sure. Will do, Director. Will do." She kissed Angus' forehead again as she walked away. "How does a hot fudge sundae sound, boy genius?"

Angus giggled a little, his arms around her as tightly as he could.

"That sounds great, Mom. With whipped cream?"

"Whipped cream and a cherry on top, even. We're gonna have that good shit tonight, promise."

* * *

Lucretia looked away for a moment while Magnus, Taako, and Merle discussed the particulars of retrieving the Philosopher's Stone. She knew what they would probably do in the end. After all, they'd done something similar at least once before. Instead, she watched Lup and Angus as they left, trying desperately to feel like she wasn't the villain in their story.

 


	14. Madame Director, Lucretia, Lucy

Angus spread his books out on the floor and stared up at the corkboard. He knew he was getting closer to...something. Close enough that there were parts of his board that he couldn’t linger on too long without starting to get a headache. Undead were immune... That was important somehow. He knew that was important. It could even explain why the lich knew so much. He heard footsteps behind him and turned, seeing his mom leaning in the doorway.

“Hey Ango, just letting you know the Director’s got another gig for me. I figure you’re alright on your own, but if you need anything, Carey and Killian said they’d keep an eye out for you.”

Angus got up and went to give her a hug, trying very hard not to think about what had happened the last time she’d gone on a mission.

“Doesn’t the Director want me to help with the Stone of Farspeech? I’ve been doing all kinds of research, Mom. I know I can help.”

Lup picked him up and held him tight.

“Ango, baby, it’s okay. We’re going inside some kind of bubble thing and we don’t know if the stones will even work. But we’ll be fine. I promise we’ll be fine.”

“Promise, Mama?”

His voice was quiet, his words mumbled into her shirt. 

"I promise, baby." She sat on his low bed, still holding him close. "We're going after a relic called the Temporal Chalice. Should be in a weird bubble town and Avi's got a plan to get us in, so it should be a breeze."

Angus nodded again, listening intently.

"That sounds like a chronomancy relic." He leaned against her and then sighed. "Do you think you'll be home for dinner or do I have to eat in the dining hall?"

"Probably dining hall for you, my dude. But I'll call you just as soon as we're on the way home, okay?"

She kissed his forehead and he stood. Angus tried not to show his worry on his face as she left. Everything would be fine and she would be home soon. That was that. And he had things to do. Grabbing his notes, Angus ran outside and watched. As soon as the glass cannonball was gone, he knew the coast would be clear.

* * *

Angus ran through the doors, ignoring the cheerful jingle that played behind him.

"Fantasy Costco, where all your dreams come true, got a deal for you."

He was still hugging his notebook tight to his chest as he looked around. Okay, the first thing should be pretty easy. He needed some spell components. Just enough to be able to cast Feather Fall a few times. Those he could pay for in gold. The harder part would be getting information out of the Deals Warlock again without paying too much for it. He was still on edge about the blood he'd paid before and that hadn't been for anything as big as what he was asking for now. He piled the components into a basket, mostly just a few bags of white feathers. Then he went looking to see if he could find a potion or a powder that would force someone to tell the truth. It wouldn't work on the lich, assuming he saw the lich again, but it would work on the Director. Yeah, he would absolutely get in trouble if he poisoned the Director but maybe she shouldn't have lied. Karma was a bitch like that. Angus frowned then, deep in thought. What if she did tell the truth and he couldn't hear it? What if it was hidden? Or what if she didn't know the real truth? Okay, so what he needed to do was figure out what the Director thought was the truth and-

"Angus! My favorite little customer. Finding everything okay or is there something...special... that you might be interested in today."

The little boy nearly jumped out of his skin when Garfield suddenly spoke behind him. He whirled around, still clutching his basket and notebook tightly. Then he remembered that he needed to be calm and authoritative. Don't show weakness in front of the Deals Warlock. He had to be confident to strike a good bargain. 

"There might be something I'm interested in, but it's going to be harder to get than before. I really don't think you have it."

Garfield leaned in, looking at Angus intently.

"Another sample of blood and a lock of your hair and I bet I do, little wizard who doesn't know his father."

Angus knew that Garfield was baiting him, trying to get him to ask about that instead of what he really wanted to know. He licked his lips, considering.

"The Director is lying about the Red Robes. I want the truth."

Garfield was silent for a moment and then he started to laugh, the sound echoing in the cavernous aisles of the Fantasy Costco.

"You strike a hard bargain, boy detective, but I think I can give you something to sate your curiosity without ruining the story too much."

Once again, Garfield held a knife out to Angus and then a small vial. The little boy gulped and cut a different finger than before, letting a few drops of blood drip. Then he cut one curl from his head, where it would be hidden by his cap, and handed both of them over. Garfield took both and they vanished from sight. Then Angus began to feel dizzy. For a moment, the room seemed to darken and then it went entirely too bright. As he fell, he heard Garfield speak once more.

"I'll be sure to leave a receipt for the rest of your purchases in the basket. Thank you for shopping at Fantasy Costco."

* * *

Angus was leaning against something and looking up. He did that a lot, lean against the soft wall and look up at people in their bright red uniforms. He didn't see Mama or Dada or Taa right now though. He saw Lucy. Lucy was nice. She would hold him and read him stories when Mama and Dada and Taa were busy. She came over now and picked him up and he tugged on her bright red robe. She laughed.

"That's right, Angus. Here, how about a story from home? How does that sound?"

He made a sound that she clearly took as agreement, despite the fact that he was pointing at his own shirt now. Bright red with...something... in the middle. He didn't know that it was. A big circle, maybe? 

"That's right. From home, Angus." She held him close with one arm as she sat in one of the chairs and reached for her glass. "Once upon a time, there was a very special place called the..."

* * *

When he woke up, he was back in his own bed with the basket of feathers sitting beside him. He had learned something. Something about red uniforms and the Director. He knew she was lying about the Red Robes for sure now. He just couldn't force his mind to put the words together. And that was how he knew he was right.

* * *

Lup blinked a few times as the Davy Lamp came into focus around her. A young girl, June, stood holding a golden chalice with handles on the sides. Lup took a step towards her.

"Oh hey, whoa, kiddo. You need to put that down right now."

The girl smiled up at her and Lup instantly felt uneasy. The eyes of a child shouldn't be that knowing, that wise, that aged.

"Lup, you're missing so much, you know that? You have so many questions and so few answers."

June's smile was unnerving as well. Lup closed her eyes for a moment, realizing she wasn't talking to the little girl at all. She was talking to the chalice.

"Okay, and? Doesn't everybody? Isn't that like... the nature of life or some bullshit?"

The chalice seemed amused when it spoke again.

"You had a chance to get your answers and you didn't take it. If you take me, you could go back and choose the other path."

The room shifted around her and Lup was suddenly back in the forest clearing, in the camp she'd been in with Angus five years ago. He was standing behind her, looking around her at the red robed lich who knew her name.

"Lup, I..." then he looked down. "If that's what you want, I guess..."

She could still see June standing beside her, looking at this scene impassively.

"You could have gone with him, you could have gotten your answers. It would have been easy, Lup, but you chose fear."

Lup looked into Angus' curious eyes, looked at the lich with sorrow on his face, and inexplicably felt guilt. Then answer took its place.

"So, what's the catch? You're one of the Grand Relics, right? So what's the McFuckin' catch, kemosabe? Do you blow up towns? Turn people into shit? Or lemme guess, you erase them from the timeline, right? People just cease to exist? Cha'girl ain't interested. You can count me the fuck out."

"You would exist in a new timeline, one where you chose to listen to him and learned the answers to your questions. Not in the one in which you live now, so long as you willingly stayed there."

For a moment, Lup considered it. Then she thought of Magnus, Carey, Killian, Noelle, even Merle.

"Yeah, no, answer doesn't change."

The chalice controlling June nodded.

"Here, let me show you something else."

The room suddenly sped back through Lup's memories and she watched herself walking into the farmhouse with Angus in her arms. Then it dissolved into static for what seemed like an unreasonable amount of time before she saw herself as a child in her aunt's kitchen. They were laughing together, baking cookies. She loved making cookies, even if she'd never gotten to eat as many of them as she wanted to. She always had to... Always had to... There was something there. And there wasn't. She looked at the scene and realized there was still static. Half of this scene she was seeing, half of the kitchen, was static.

"Okay, relic buddy, I don't know what exactly you're trying to get at here, but you might as well just give up because I'm not taking you. I'm going home. To my kid. And that's that."

June smiled and the room faded away leaving Lup back at the top of Shaft B.

* * *

Angus had tucked the truth poison carefully up his sleeve before he walked to the Director's office. He was scuffing his feet as he walked the last few feet, trying to put on an aura of dejected, bored child. She would fall for it. Everyone did except for Mom. He couldn't count the number of times he'd pulled this particular scam on strangers. Pushing the door to her office open slowly, Angus walked inside.

"Madame Director? Are you busy? I'm reeeaaally bored without anything to do and I don't know when my mom's gonna be back."

The Director smiled at him and gestured to the chair in front of her. There was worry in her eyes and for half a second he felt guilty. Then he brushed it off. He would feel bad for grifting her once he had his answers. Angus pulled himself into the chair and gave her a smile of his own, being sure to keep it just a bit shaky. She had a cup of tea in front of her. Jackpot. Now he just had to get the poison into it. 


	15. Some Flavor of the Truth

Lucretia looked across the desk at the small boy seated there. It was so hard to see him some days, to see Barry in him. Especially right now with Lup and the boys out on a mission. It was hard to see this lost child as anything other than a sign of her failures, of every wrong she had committed along this road. But there was nothing for it now. There was no going back. Gods, she had most of the relics. Just the Temporal Chalice and the Animus Bell to go.

"Madame Director?"

She met his eyes steadily, putting a smile on her face.

"Yes, Angus?"

He leaned forward a little, his hands close together on the desktop.

"Did the Red Robes really make the relics?"

Lucretia frowned slightly at the question and took a sip of her tea. She felt an odd shiver up her spine and then a tingling. She looked at Angus, surprise showing on her face as she realized. Truth serum. Angus had drugged her. And she'd just failed the save. How much did he know? Well, at least he'd asked a question she could answer.

"They did, Angus. It was reckless and dangerous, but they did it anyway."

There. She felt tense but she took another sip and tried to relax. She had one hundred years of experience with crafting words, she could talk her way around one ten year old. Angus considered her words for a long moment before nodding.

"Why?"

"I can't tell you that, Angus. The memory of why has been lost."

His eyes narrowed just slightly. Was he suspicious? Why was he doing this? Lucretia took another sip of her tea and set her hands on her lap where he wouldn't be able to see them trembling. She had underestimated Lup once, long long ago. When they were all still getting used to each other and the twins had seemed like nothing but troublemakers with talent before she had realized just how smart they were under the exterior. Lucretia was somehow ashamed of herself to realize she had underestimated this brilliant boy even more just because he was a child.

"Why?"

What was he trying to get out of this? Unless... Lup had mentioned they had seen Barry before they'd joined the Bureau. Could Barry have told Angus something? Could they have seen Barry again? Lucretia wanted desperately to grab Angus and beg him to tell her what he knew, but at the same time, she knew she had to stay calm. Keep him off her trail as much as possible.

"It's hard to say. It's entirely possible that the Red Robes concealed the truth themselves. That perhaps they had something capable of erasing memories similar to our Voidfish. It's hard to be certain though. Why the sudden interest, Angus? Just curiosity?"

He frowned just slightly and then nodded, a smile back on his face.

"That's right, Ma'am! I've been helping with all the research into the Grand Relics and it seemed like there really should be more information about the Red Robes. I haven't been able to find anything anywhere, not even in the library here. So, since you've been the only one who could ever say anything, I thought maybe you could tell me more."

Lucretia considered that, trying to decide if he was being truthful. She had no real way of knowing. Other than the slight frown, his poker face was every bit as good as Lup's. 

"Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

* * *

Angus stared at the Director when she asked that question. Was there anything else he wanted to know? Yes! There were so many things he wanted to know. How do you really know my Mom? What do you really know about the Red Robes? Are you a Red Robe? Is my Mom a Red Robe? Do you know my dad? The questions burned through his mind like lightning and fizzled before they could make it to his mouth. Then he took a breath. Instead, he just smiled.

"Can you tell me the names of the last two Grand Relics, Ma'am? I thought it might help me with the research."

Was it his imagination or did the Director look paler?

"There's only one relic left to collect after the Temporal Chalice, Angus. It's called the Animus Bell and I know where it is... and not much else."

Now, Angus knew something was wrong. They had been told there were seven Grand Relics. Was the Director suddenly changing the story while under a Truth Serum?

“But, I thought there were seven Grand Relics, Ma’am. The Phoenix Fire Gauntlet, the Oculus, the Gaia Sash, the Philosopher’s Stone, the Temporal Chalice, and the Animus Bell is only six. And the other Reclaimers said they were the first ones to bring back a relic, which means there’s one missing, Ma’am. So what’s the missing Grand Relic?”

There was no mistaking it, the Director’s eyes had flicked to her white oak staff, the one leaning against the wall near to her hand. The one she carried everyone. The one she didn’t trust anyone else with. Angus felt a burst of static through his mind and knew. He’d pieced something important together. Something beyond the fact that the Director’s white oak staff was a relic and she’d lied about it.

“I had already reclaimed the last relic before I formed the Bureau of Balance. It’s... not something I would really like to discuss since it was...” She paused for a long moment. “Harrowing.”

Given everything he’d seen so far, that honestly tracked, so Angus just nodded. It was some flavor of the truth and that had to be good enough for now. There was a knock on the door and they both turned to see Carey standing there.

“Madame Director, the Reclaimers are back.” She was grinning brightly. “They did it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually rolled for Lucretia's save. For those who are curious, she rolled a 3. The DC for Truth Serum is 11. Poor Lucretia.


	16. Coming to an Arrangement

Lup felt dizzy, disoriented, almost like she was falling through space. Then she looked up and realized she must have teleported or fallen through a gate. There was no other way she could possibly have suddenly appeared in a throne hall made of black granite. A figure sat on an alabaster throne before her, wreathed in darkness and wearing a white mask that looked distinctly like a raven's skull. Lup gulped and moved to kneel. She didn't know a lot about gods, she'd never really been interested. But she knew enough to know that this was the Raven Queen. Then a second realization went through her mind like a shot. She couldn't kneel. Not that she couldn't move, oh no, she could definitely do that. She didn't have legs. Or a physical form. She was a floating red specter like the- She was a Lich.  _ Barry _ . The Starblaster. Taako! Memories flashed through her mind and she recoiled, closing her eyes as though that would help stave them off. The Raven Queen raised a hand and stemmed the tide.

"Lup Bluejeans, do not be afraid. I did not bring you to my domain to cast you into the Eternal Stockade or to rend you asunder for your crimes against the natural ordering of life and death. I come instead to make an offer."

Lup looked up at the strangely melodic voice.

"How do... Why... What..."

"I know you have many questions, child, but save them. Suffice to say that the undead are immune, as you know, to what your friend has done to the memories of your life. I only know some of what I have seen in your mind but it is enough. I have called my Reaper off the trail of your compatriot and should the world survive, he will be given the same offer. I cannot abide the existence of liches in the world, child. But I can offer you a way to make up for your transgressions, to carry on and have a life much as Kravitz does. Will you accept my offer and become a Reaper?"

Lup couldn't believe what she was hearing. Not get in trouble? The Reaper had been chasing Barry? Holy shit, Taako's boyfriend was trying to kill her husband. Holy shit, she had a husband. 

"Barry gets the deal too? I... you know I won't remember, right? Not unless I beef it again. Uh... with all due respect."

"I am fully aware and that is something I am willing to accept. Or that you will find a way to halt this memory erasure. And yes, Barry Bluejeans will also be given this offer... Despite his flagrant practice of necromancy."

Fuck, she'd be an idiot to say no.

“And I get to stay with Angus?”

The Raven Queen seemed to smile under the skull she wore.

“I wouldn’t wish to separate parent and child. Well, not without good cause.”

Lup nodded.

“Then I’ll do it. Sounds like a deal.” She looked around. “Where are the boys, anyway? They’re not...”

“They are with my...counterpart, Istus. I suspect they will take her offer as you have taken mine. Now, please go deal with that bubble. I do hate when people fail to die in the proper course of things.”

* * *

Lucretia steepled her fingers, leaning on her elbows on the desk as she looked across at Angus. He was looking back at her seriously, but his gaze kept flicking to the staff leaning against the wall near her. She was going to have to deal with this. But how? This wasn’t some random person, just a pile of dust as Taako would have put it, this was their boy, this was Lup and Barry’s son.

“Alright, Angus, let’s cut to the chase. You suspect that I’m up to something, don’t you?”

Angus fidgeted slightly and then nodded.

"I do, Madame Director. I know you're lying about a lot of things and I know there are things that I know and you know that nobody else knows."

Lucretia frowned just slightly.

"What do you mean by that?"

Then she noticed the bandaid on his hand. He'd had one there before, now that she was thinking about it. He'd been cagey since then. And how exactly had he gotten an injury on his hand like that anyway?

"I know about my mom and  _ Uncle _ Taako."

Lucretia physically recoiled like the boy had slapped her. There was no possible way that... None... 

"I also know that... That you aren't who you say you are. That... that..."

She could practically see the beads of perspiration forming on his forehead as he tried and failed to put the thoughts together. The Voidfish was stopping him, certainly, but Angus knew her secret somehow.

"I've seen... I... I remembered..."

He was started to waver and she stood quickly, knocking her chair over as she reached to grab his shoulders.

"Angus, please, stop trying. You're going to hurt yourself."

In that moment, she knew she had to make a decision. She could inoculate him or she could just try to win him over to her side. Granted, there were pluses and minuses to either course of action. Having him on her side would make so many things easier, but there was always the risk of... Barry. If Angus remembered everything, he might go look for Barry. 

Angus blinked up at her, disoriented. And of course, he was. He was still trying to fight his way through the Voidfish's influence. She poured a fresh cup of tea and held it out to him.

"I know what you put in my drink, Angus. You know perfectly well I failed the save or I wouldn't have told you as much as I have already. And... You're so smart, so much like your parents." She took a breath. "If you promise to help me, I promise to tell you what I can. As much as I can beyond the lies. And I promise, Angus, I've been lying for a reason."

Angus met her gaze steadily for a long moment. Then he nodded and took the cup.

"Deal. But you better not be lying, Madame Director. I'm the world's greatest detective and I'll see straight through your horseshit."

Lucretia smiled and moved to fix her chair, settling back into it. Taking up her own tea, she raised the cup to her lips for another sip.

"It began... a very long time ago, with a group of people. The Red Robes. They... They created the Grand Relics, Angus. And I know, I know, this is part of what I'd already told you, but what you need to understand is that they did it not because they wanted chaos or destruction, or because they didn't care. They... most of them anyway, thought they were doing the right thing. They thought they were protecting the world from something far, far worse. They thought that it would be worth it. And it wasn't. Not at all. So many people in this world that they were trying to protect got hurt, lives were ruined, entire cities destroyed. But you know that, of course. They... Things happened so quickly.  The Red Robes were separated. And I've been trying to gather the Grand Relics to bring them together to protect the world."

Angus nodded slowly, but he didn't sip the tea. He was staring into it. Lucretia couldn't help but sigh. Of  _ course,  _ Lup's son would check it for spells in a moment like this. A good thing she hadn't done anything to it, then. Finally, he took a sip and looked at her.

"What are you protecting the world from?"

She closed her eyes, an image of tendrils of darkness streaked through with opalescent color filling her vision.

"Something... bigger than all of this, bigger than the planar system. Something capable of destroying hundreds of planar systems. I don't know how much I can tell you past the... redactions."

For a long moment, Angus said nothing. He just looked at her. Then he tilted his head to the side.

"What's bigger than this... That's what Mom said he said, the Red Robe Lich, I mean. He was trying to warn them about this... this thing, right?"

Gods, Angus was so smart. Too smart.

"Yes."

"Why?"

His eyes narrowed as he asked it and Lucretia felt her heart sink.

"Because he wants to protect the world too, but his way of doing it is wrong. I... He's not evil. He's not bad, Angus. But... you know how sometimes someone gets an idea in their head and they just refuse to give it up no matter how wrong it is? No matter how badly things are going?"

Angus nodded and she continued on.

"The Lich... He has an idea like that, a way of solving all of this that is wrong. And he doesn't trust me. That's why we can't just work together to work this out. Do you trust me, Angus? Can we work together?"

For a long moment, Lucretia was unsure. Then Angus nodded and reached for her hand. She took it and he grinned.

"Making a deal with you seems like it makes a lot more sense than making a third one with Garfield. And you don't take blood for it."


	17. Wonderland

Lup followed along after the others as they walked up the black and white path that led to the large tent in the middle of the Felicity Wildes and she wondered what the fuck she was doing. There was something about this place that felt familiar and at the same time, warped and twisted. Either way, she didn't like it one bit. Especially not given what the Director had said about it. Lup adjusted her grip on the umbra staff and looked up at the billboards they were passing. For the most part, it seemed like nothing, but then she saw one that made her heart skip a beat and her throat feel tight.  _We have what you're missing, Lup_. And beside it was a silhouette or something like it. A portrait of a human but blurry to the point of being unrecognizable. Except... except... Except that she could see just enough to know that whoever this man was, he shared Angus' curly hair and glasses. Maybe she could get her answers here, along with the Animus Bell. Maybe she could finally figure out what it was that was missing from her life.

"Okay..." Magnus was looking above the shadowed door to Wonderland. "Magnus Burnsides, Merle Highchurch, Taako, and Lup. Anyone else think its weird that they knew we were coming?"

Lup just gestured back over her shoulder.

"The ominous and creepy advertising has my name on it too, so you know what?"

Taako was looking at the dark space beyond the frame of the door and then he looked at the others.

"You know what, you folks go have fun. Taako's good out here."

Lup hesitated, following Taako's gaze. 

"You know, I hate to agree with  _Burrito,_ here, but uh... yeah, cha'girl's not really liking the looks of this place." Magnus started to open his mouth and Lup raised a finger. "Buuut, let me finish, Burnsides.  _But,_  we've got a job to do, so in we go."

She put one hand between Taako's shoulder blades and shoved hard, pushing him through the open doorway. When he tried to catch himself, yelling, Magnus grabbed him around the waist and they walked in. Merle was just behind them.

* * *

Angus was sitting opposite the Director again, watching her expression very carefully. She seemed nervous, more so than usual. Was Wonderland really that much worse than everything else the Reclaimers had been through? Or was it something else? She poured herself a cup of tea and then poured one for him as well.

"Just a little longer, Angus. And then you'll learn the rest, I promise."

Angus pulled his cup towards him and looked into it.

"Because we almost have all the Grand Relics... And none of the Reclaimers realized you're lying yet." Angus added a little sugar and stirred it in. "Mostly because Uncle Taako can't count."

The Director looked down into the cup, but Angus could see the corners of her mouth turning up in a smile. Then she laughed quietly.

"He stopped learning math long before you were born."

Angus started laughing. He could just imagine. He took a long sip of his tea and then glanced towards the door.

"How long do you think before they come back?"

He knew the Director was nervous about Wonderland, knew what she had faced in there, but even now he could see her gaze flicking towards the flier still sitting on the desk. She shook her head and closed her eyes.

"We won't know until they report in. But hopefully... hopefully not too long. They trained as hard as they could for this. They're capable. I know they can do it."

* * *

Lup glared at the wheel in front of her. They'd called it the Wheel of Sacrifice but she was internally referring to it as the Wheel of Bullshit. Merle had already given up his dark vision, Magnus was down a finger, and Taako was dealing with some nebulous 'bad luck'. Whatever that meant.

"And last but not least." Edward smiled at her slowly. "You're up, Lup."

She set one hand on the wheel, trying to decide if there was a way she could game this system. There had to be a way to just bypass all of this and grab the damn relic, right? She closed her eyes and spun the wheel, listening to the tick tick tick tick as it spun.

"Oh, interesting." Lydia's voice was high and excited. "Backpack. We haven't seen that one in a while."

"Backpack means you need to give up an item." Edward cut in, laughter in his tone.

"And as it happens, you have something very interesting."

Lup's grip on the umbra staff tightened as they spoke. She didn't have much and this was so much more than her spell focus. Then Edward's voice cut through her internal worrying.

"That robe you're wearing. The red one, darling."

Magnus relaxed next to her but Lup felt suddenly cold. She couldn't just... She couldn't... This was the only hint she had to her past before she had woken up in that farmhouse with Angus. And Angus. Gods, how many times had he used it as a blanket? How many times had she wrapped it around him and held him close through a storm? She pulled it more tightly around her shoulders, throat tight. 

"I can't. I won't."

Lydia leaned in, smiling a viper's smile at Lup.

"You'll take the penalty then? Seems like a shame."

"Lup, what are you doing?" Magnus sounded panicked. She shot him a look and he went quiet. "If it's that important..."

"It is, okay? I'll deal with whatever else, but... Look, I'll explain later when we get back out of this. Just... just accept it."

Magnus nodded and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't need to justify it. If it's that important, then it's that important."

Edward leaned in, looking Lup over.

"Now, this is all very wonderful, very sweet, but you do need to spin the wheel again. Twice. Shall we carry on?"

She spun the wheel again and Lydia lit up as it landed on skull.

"Oh! Bad luck, darling."

* * *

Angus kicked his feet as they waited, the tension in the room palpable. Then he looked at the Director and chewed his lower lip, thinking.

"What about my dad?"

The Director set her cup of tea down so hard that Angus jumped and for just a moment, they both looked at the saucer, half expecting it to be broken. Then she pinched the bridge of her nose with one hand.

"Angus... I can't tell you that."

He narrowed his eyes.

"Can't, or won't?" He leaned forward against the table. His head was pounding as he tried to force his way past the blocks. "You knew my dad, didn't you? And..."

He gritted his teeth, his mind trying to force a connection between the uniforms he'd seen in flashes of warlock-given memory, between the robe his mother wore, between his missing and unknown father, between the woman sitting opposite him. Then his eyes rolled up and he collapsed.

"Angus!"

* * *

Lucretia stood up quickly, knocking her chair over as she moved to catch the boy seated opposite her. Gods, he had pushed too hard. She held him in her arms, cradling him as she tried to decide what to do. Soon enough, she would be able to inoculate all of them, to restore their memories. He would be alright until then. She laid him down on a couch in her office where she could watch him. He would be fine eventually, he just needed time to rest. Everything would be fine soon.

* * *

Barry Bluejeans floated invisibly where he could watch his family as they moved through Wonderland. He wanted so very badly to destroy these liches himself but he knew he couldn't go on the offensive just yet, not without potentially losing even more of the precious trust he'd been trying to build up with the people he loved most. He could see Lup now, leaning heavily against the platform in front of her during a game called Heart Attack. There was blood at the corner of her mouth and she had a black eye. He could feel anger rising in him and tried to pull it back. The Hunger would be here soon, he couldn't afford to go unstable this close to the finish line. He'd made it all that way, all these years.

"So, our first contestant..."

Barry tuned the liches out, watching his family instead. If he had been anyone else, if they had been anyone else, if they hadn't spent one hundred years living and working practically on top of each other, he never would have noticed Taako subtly casting a spell on Lup. He would never have noticed her eyes widening slightly as she looked directly at him. True Sight. Taako had cast True Sight. Barry smiled and then raised a finger to his lips. She met his eyes and then very slightly nodded. Thank everything. She trusted him. He pointed at Edward and Lydia and her eyes flicked that way. Again, her eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened just slightly. She could see them the same as he could now, could see the black-robed specters. Good. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get them all out of here alive. Looking up, Barry took another look at the swirling mass of smog near the ceiling. She followed his eyes again and he smiled. It was good to know that even with everything forgotten, they could still slide right back into working together.


	18. Sturdy, Denim, and Blue

By the time they stumbled out of Wonderland, all four of them were bloody, bruised, and beaten. Taako was leaning heavily on Lup and she wasn't even objecting to it. Magnus was alive, but barely, and Merle had his wooden hand pressed to his side as he tried to call out to Pan for healing. The red-robed lich was still hovering in the air in front of them, looking them over.

"Alright... We've got a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in. But... Fuck, you might not even hear this... It's really good to see you guys again and... and I'm glad you're alright."

Lup opened her mouth, a thousand and one questions stumble and tumbling over each other in the rush to be asked, but closed it again as her stone of farspeech suddenly clicked on.

"Mom? Mom, are you there?"

She scrambled, trying to pull it out, and the lich looked stricken. He held one skeletal hand on his lips and reached for the stone with the other. Lup glared at him, entirely ready to say no, to tell him to go fuck himself. Then he pulled his hand back like he understood and nodded, mouthing 'just don't mention me.' Lup nodded and answered.

"Hey, Ango. Tell the Director we got the spooky ding dong or whatever and we're gonna crash for a while. That place was... Just tell her I said it was a whole bunch of words you're not allowed to repeat until you're at least a foot taller. She should get it." Then she paused. "How are you doing? Everything okay?"

He sniffed and she clutched the stone tighter. Had he been crying? How long had they been out of communication?

"I'm okay now. Are you okay? And... and... ?"

"We're a-okay. Promise. And we'll see you just as soon as we're all patched up. Merle blew all his spell slots so we're just gonna good ol' fashioned long rest that shit. Love you, Ango."

"Love you too, Mom." He was quiet for a second and she started to put the stone away but heard a quiet "See you real soon." just before it clicked off.

She looked up at the lich and narrowed her eyes.

"I'm down with trusting you because you helped us but if you think for a hot second I'm not gonna let  _my kid_ know I survived that fucking horror show, you've got another thing coming."

The lich raised his hands.

"No, no, I understand. Honestly, I... Given what I know, I'd be real surprised if you didn't." He turned then. "Come on, we gotta go. And... no more calls now. We're going radio dark."

Taako let out a whoop and spiked his stone of farspeech.

"Hell yeah! We're going off the grid!"

Lup rolled her eyes at his antics, but kept one arm around him to keep him standing.

"You're an idiot is what you are." Then her eyes flicked to the lich. "But if that's what we're doing." When he nodded, she tossed her stone of farspeech in the air and blasted it with a jet of flame. 

With Merle and Magnus' stones likewise destroyed, the group headed off into the Felicity Wilds following a Red Robe and each of them quietly wondering just how exactly everything in their lives had led to this moment. 

* * *

The first thing Lup noticed as they looked around the cave really should have been the giant, glowing green tank in the corner, or maybe the conspiracy theory map on the wall, or maybe even the fact that a robe that matched her own was draped over a chest. No, what she noticed first was a piece of paper no bigger than a napkin with her handwriting on it. It was a simple enough note, just two words, but looking at it made her feel lost and homesick and more than a little nauseous. Back soon. Where had she gone? Where did she have to go back to? She closed her eyes against the headache building right behind her forehead. Then she felt a light touch on her shoulder and turned away, startled to find that the lich was the one who had pulled her out of it.

"Definitely don't focus on that too hard, Lup." There was something in his tone that hurt and she wasn't sure why. "Not... not yet. Not until you can..." He trailed off, trying to find the words. "Not until I can explain everything."

Then he turned towards the tank and Lup did a doubletake. Magnus approached it, raising one hand towards the tank.

"You're all seeing this, right? There's... definitely a naked dude in there, right?"

Lup tilted her head to the side, trying to see past the brackish fluid. 

"Absolutely is, my dude. Looks kind of like a nerd."

The lich chuckled quietly.

"Somehow, I should've known you said that." Then he floated towards the tank. "Just so you guys know, when I come out of there, I'm... I'm not going to remember any of you. But..." He flicked a coin to Lup and she caught it. "That should help us out, okay? And Merle, can you be a bud and grab me some clothes out of the chest? I'm gonna be naked as a jaybird when I come out of here."

Merle shrugged and walked towards the chest, moving the robe aside with an odd look at Lup. She adjusted her own, feeling self-conscious now. Was she- ? The thought wouldn't form and the vague headache she'd had forming was getting worse. She spotted a pair of glasses on the desk and picked them up, something about them catching her attention. Then she heard a sound and turned to see the tank opening and a naked, middle-aged human man stumbling out. He had messy curly hair with a touch of grey in it and he was a bit overweight but something about him drew her eye. He had laugh lines around his eyes and an easy smile. She held the glasses out to him while the boys all seemed to be in shock. Then Merle held out a pair of pants; sturdy, denim, and blue.

Barry Bluejeans settled his glasses on before starting to get dressed, blinking at the four of them.

"Wow... last night must've been crazy. Do uh... I mean, obviously I know you guys but uh... Not exactly the clearest in the memory department right now. There's sort of a lot of holes in the old Barry story."

Lup kept looking at the boys, trying to figure out exactly why all three of them looked like they were staring at a ghost. Above and beyond the fact that this nerd had been a lich like not even a minute ago.

"No worry, my guy. How about uh... how about we see if we can't figure out how this crazy magic talking coin you gave me works and then-"

But Lup was cut off as the coin began to speak. It detailed out Barry's life to him, told him enough to prove it had been him to record these messages. And now they had a mission. Lup looked at Barry and then over at the others.

"So, looks like we're headed back to the moon, boys. Everyone ready for a little heist action?"

* * *

They'd had to split up to pull it off. Magnus and Merle had run for the voidfish's chambers, leaving Taako and Lup to try and find a way past the Director. They'd managed it... barely, with an astoundingly good series of lies (and a doozy of a persuasion check from Lup). They'd found the door and were into the hallway quickly enough. One illusion later, and Taako and Lup were both looking down at Angus who had his wand in his hand and his eyes narrowed.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

His eyes flicked to Taako and Lup exhaled slowly as she tried to figure out exactly how to explain all of this. Then she realized Angus was casting a spell and felt the all too familiar sensation as a Zone of Truth settled around her.

"Oh come on! Angus, you can't pull a Zone on me, I'm your  _Mom_. You can't Zone of Truth your mom! That's not how the parent-child relationship works!"

Taako knelt down, ignoring Lup's words.

"Look, Ango, my dude, I get this doesn't look great but you gotta trust us, okay? You know there's something going on here, right?"

Angus nodded and held up a piece of chalk.

"That's why I'm back here. The Director isn't destroying the Relics. She swaps out the balls. Plus, she's had one the whole time. Her staff is a Relic."

Lup's eyes widened and she started to open her mouth. Then they all heard a four voice and Lup closed her mouth with a groan of frustration as Barry climbed back out of the pocket spa with a handful of cucumber sandwiches.

"Oh hey, I'm here too. Hi, kid. I'm Barry. Barry Bluejeans. It's uh... it's nice to meet you, I guess?"

Taako rolled his eyes at that and looked at Angus. 

"Ready to go?"

Angus looked at all three of them and then nodded, reaching for Lup's hand.

"Let's go, Mom."

The Director had only made him promise to help until they got the last Relic, after all, and the Animus Bell was very much in her possession. That meant he was off the hook.

* * *

Four hands clutched glasses of voidfish ichor. Four hands raised to lips and four throats swallowed. Angus dropped his cup first, swaying on his feet as the pieces Garfield had given him stitched into a single whole. Then Lup practically chucked hers as she turned to grab Taako in a hug. Taako was shaken for a moment but then he returned that hug for all he was worth. Barry smiled at them both and then turned, hearing feet coming down the hall.

"Ango, grab some for the others. Make sure there's enough for three, got it?"

Angus Bluejeans was already filling his canteen as discreetly as he could while Barry tried to block line of sight from the door.

"You got it... Dad."


	19. Where All Your Dreams Come True

Their memories were racing back now, not a moment too soon as the sky above them went dark and the Hunger crashed down around them. Lup held tight to Taako, Barry at her side and Angus just in front of them. There was no mistaking what they knew, no mistaking that they were a family. Taako raised his eyes towards the sky and then looked at Lucretia where she stood, channeling the Light of Creation into her staff.

"What the  _fuck_ , Lucretia? You... you took everything from me!"

He leveled his wand at her and Lup squeezed his hand harder.

"Koko, later. The Hunger's here and we need to deal with that before-"

Taako turned towards her and gestured broadly.

"You think I don't know that, Lup? Fuck! The Hunger's here, we're not ready, and we can't just do the usual. Even if we knew where the ship was."

Davenport shook his head, trying to clear it, and then looked around.

"Focus, all of you. We need to find the Starblaster first and foremost. Magnus, Merle, go see if you can do something with the voidfish. People out there are dying to a threat they can't even see. If you can figure out how to get them to stop blocking the Hunger, good, but if you can't, then you're going to have to-"

Magnus cut Davenport off with a sharp "No." and Davenport sighed.

"Magnus, I know. Believe me, I know but people are  _dying."_

Turning to run towards his old friend Fisher, Magnus yelled back.

"I'll find another way, Cap'nport! You'll see!"

Merle jogged after him, grumbling under his breath. 

* * *

Lup looked down, grabbing Angus' hand tightly. Lucretia was  _somewhere,_ the planes were fucked, the Starblaster was missing, and they didn't have a plan. Okay, they had Lucretia's super bad definitely not going to work in the long-term plan. They needed a miracle, they needed... 

"Taako, I need you to transmute the biggest thing you've transmuted in your entire fucking life."

She grabbed his hand and started leading them towards the edge of the base, Barry hot on their heels.

"Lulu, what the fuck?"

She pointed down where the town of Phandalin had once been.

"We're getting back-up. I don't care from where but..." She looked out at the Hunger ravaging the world. "Try and make it something good, okay?"

Taako looked at the circle of black glass and touched one hand to the sapphire pendant he'd taken to wearing in recent months.

"Got it. I'm gonna get us the best damn back-up you've ever seen."

Lup nodded as he jumped off the moon base, casting featherfall as he dropped through the air.

"Bear, he's gonna need-"

"Help keeping his skin in one piece? Already on it." Where Barry had gotten a wand from, Lup wasn't entirely sure. She hadn't been paying attention. "You and Ango coming?"

Lup and Barry turned just in time to see Angus take a running leap off the edge of the moon.

"ANGUS!"

Lup's heart was in her mouth as she jumped after him, Barry a step behind. Then she saw him pointing at himself with his small wand as he cast featherfall. Angus looked up, holding his glasses on with one hand as he gave her a gap-toothed grin.

"It's okay, Mom! I've got magic powers!"

* * *

Kravitz was on the field now. They had found the Starblaster and Lucretia was almost done channeling the Animus Bell's fraction of the Light of Creation into the Bulwark Staff. They just didn't have a better plan that the bubble or leaving.

"Look," Davenport gestured at the ship. "We made a deal, right? This plan didn't work so we get on the Starblaster and we try again."

Lup's eyes narrowed and she gestured out at the world.

"That's not a fuck option anymore, Dav. Like... I get it. Believe me. This plan is fucked. This whole plane is fucked. But I'm not leaving."

Merle took a breath and then stepped forward.

"I can't leave either. Shit, I've got kids."

Taako put a hand on Angus' shoulder, keeping him close to them, and Angus realized something else in that moment. He'd seen the strange light from Fisher and Junior, heard the story, just the same as everyone else on Abeir-Toril. If they left, he wouldn't go with them. He would be alone and then he would die.

"Mom? Don't... don't leave me."

Lup glared at Davenport and their stalwart captain hesitated.

"Look... I... I understand, but if we die here, Lup, then that's it. That's the end. So unless one of you has a better plan-"

And that was when the prophecy fell out of Merle's pocket.

* * *

Taako had a plan now. A brilliant plan. A plan with absolutely no possible flaws, assuming they could pull it off. And then Barry looked at him and asked the one question no one had been expecting. 

“Can... can this plan work with like... let’s say 99% of the Light?”

Barry was staring at Taako, almost desperately, like he  _needed_  the answer to be yes. Lup had both hands on Angus’ shoulders and her grip was tightening. His parent were scared. Angus looked up and saw the reason in her eyes. The last piece of the Light of Creation was him. He didn't know how or why or anything else yet, he just knew it was true. For just a moment, Angus Bluejeans was afraid. Then he tore free of his mother’s grip and grabbed his father’s arm.  
  
“The tank you used. Will it work again?”  
  
The entire group went silent as everyone else tried to catch up to where Angus’ mind had already gotten.  
  
“I mean... yeah? Angus, what are-?”  
  
Angus grinned brightly and tugged on his Dad’s arm.   
  
“Come on, there’s something in the Fantasy Costco I need to get.”  
  
Barry gave Lup an uncertain look and she looked over at Taako.  
  
“Babe, it’s cool, go with Ango. We’ll work on this sitch.”  
  
He nodded once and Lup kissed his cheek. Then Barry let himself be led off by their son. Their  _son._  Barry wished he had more time to... to... anything. Deal with the Hunger first. Then you have all the time you need.   
  
They ran through the doors of the Fantasy Costco, the jingle echoing in the otherwise silent and empty store. Angus was looking around with wide eyes, worried, until he spotted the door to the back.  
  
“Maybe...”  
  
They burst into the back and Angus gasped. Barry walked up to the pod full of green brackish fluid and rested one hand on it.  
  
“That’s... that’s  _you.”_ Barry turned, kneeling down and grabbing Angus by the shoulders. "Buddy, what the hell have you been up to?"

Angus grinned and adjusted his glasses, trying not to look sheepish.

"I was just expecting to find some vials of my blood. That I sold. To the Deals Warlock."

For a long moment, Barry was silent and then he just hugged his son tightly.

"You're so much like your mother. I can do the transfer but... Angus... How did you know?"

Angus hugged Barry back as tightly as he could.

"I didn't. I guessed." Angus sniffed, tears starting to form in his eyes. "It's okay, Dad. I trust you."

Despite his words, Angus was scared. Barry stood back up and Angus took a step back, closing his eyes tightly and throwing his arms wide. Barry looked into the tank for a long moment and then raised his wand, leveling it at his son's chest. 

* * *

**Eleven Years Ago**

Lup was looking at the Light of Creation sitting on the desk in the lab on the Starblaster, or at least the two chunks of power she and Barry had separated off of it to create their relics with. He was leaning across the desk scribbling in his notebook as he finished the final touches on the design for the bell he was still struggling to name. She had finished her gauntlet design hours ago but she had a second set of notes in her hands, notes that were much more complicated and involved schools of magic she had only ever dabbled in. 

"Bear? Can you check my math on something?" She set the notebook down in front of him and he looked up, curious. "It's just a little spell I was thinking about... Sort of something based on maybe using some of the Light. If you thought it would work. And wanted to. And... stuff."

Barry glanced up at her and reached out to rest his hand on her arm. He wasn't used to her sounding this nervous, this hesitant. Then he skimmed the first formula and his mouth dropped open. This was high order biological transmutation, not just the surface level changes Taako had done for her so long ago. This would change organs and shift bones and... 

"Lup, are you... I mean... Do you want to... Is this...?" He took a breath, pouring over the second spell. "A... a baby? You want to have a baby?"

He set the notes down and stood, pulling her into his arms.

"I mean, yeah. If you want." She tried to sound casual and failed. "Deffo don't want to push you into anything."

Barry kissed her gently.

"Lup, babe, love of my life, I would be overjoyed. But let me check your math first because neither of us wants to risk fucking this up."

A few hours later, with a small fragment of the Light of Creation, barely a sliver of it to fuel the spell, Barry and Lup enacted the transmutation spell. Taako might notice, they supposed, it being his specialty and all that, but they weren't planning on telling anyone else. Why did it matter? It wasn't like they would ever have to put the Light back together.


	20. The End and The Beginning

Barry watched as the magic formed around the end of his wand and then began to glow darkly around his son. His heart was pounding in his chest, terrified of what would happen, what could happen. This, so much more than the ritual he'd done decades before to combine his soul with his magical essence, scared him beyond measure. And then... and then the small form in front of him crumpled to the ground. Barry turned away, looking instead at the tank in the corner and concentrating on making sure every piece of the young soul went into the right place. He wouldn't think about his son's body laying on the floor. His son was here, in his hands, in the tank. Everything was fine. 

Angus woke up suddenly and pitched forward, stumbling out of the tank, soaking wet and confused. He blinked a few times, rubbing at his eyes. Then Barry hugged him tightly. If the man had tears on his face, Angus certainly wasn't going to tell.

"Dad? Did... did it work?"

They both turned and realized there wasn't a body laying there, just a pile of clothing and a small glowing fragment of power. Barry grabbed it with a grin.

"Get dressed quick, we need to get this to Luce. Have you still got your wand?"

Angus nodded, tugging on his clothes as quickly as he could. He skipped his vest and bowtie, even his cap stayed on the floor. So when he followed Barry out of the Fantasy Costco, both of them were wearing blue pants and white shirts. And for the first time in his life, Angus understood why his mother had always joked that nerds wore blue pants. He didn't have too much time to dwell on that though. He could see fighting ahead and realized that the agents of the Hunger had turned. 

"Shit... They can sense the Light. Ango, we need to  _move_."

Angus held his wand up and gave it a flick, yelling a word. Barry recognized it immediately and grinned as he watched three bolts of pure force launch out of Angus' wand towards a creature made of darkness that looked like it may have once been human. Barry leveled his own wand and waves of necrotic energy shot out of it, more than enough to knock the creature out of their way. They could see the others ahead, Lup running towards them with the umbra staff in her hand and worry on her face. Taako was a half step behind her.

"What the fuck was that about, Barold?"

Lup ignored Taako's question, hugging Angus tightly.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

Angus wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged back as tightly as he possibly could.

"My plan worked, Mom. We got the last piece. Dad's got it."

* * *

They got the last piece of the Light of Creation to Lucretia and she channeled it into her staff as Davenport, the greatest pilot to ever live, took flight for the last time. For the first time in a century, they flew into the darkness instead of away, and Angus Bluejeans stood between his parents while his mom rallied the people of Goldcliff, of Faerun, to fight against the Hunger that threatened their world. 

They won, of course, though there were losses that could never be replaced. In the end, though, the world was saved, and for the first time in a century the crew of the Starblaster, the family known as the IPRE, could rest. They were home, they were free, and they were safe. And Angus Bluejeans was hoisted onto the shoulders of his Uncle Magnus as the whole world cheered. 

* * *

 

**6 Months Later**

Things changed when they left the moon base, and they didn't change. Angus was still Lup's shadow, but sometimes now he would be trailing behind his dad or Uncle Taako. Today, though, all of them were going to the great temple of the Raven Queen in Neverwinter for an important meeting. One that Uncle Kravitz had made very, extremely clear that they were not to be late for, that they were to dress well for, and that they were to be respectful during. Which, of course, meant that Lup was in her old IPRE uniform and Barry had thrown a robe on over his jeans and t-shirt. Angus, at least, had pulled out a nice red sweater vest and bowtie so he matched with them.

When they arrived at the temple, Kravitz was waiting for them before the altar. Taako stood nearby, sunglasses on and an iced coffee in his hand.

"Okay, my guy, are you gonna spill what this is about oooor like do we need to keep waiting?"

Kravitz laughed quietly and reached for Taako's hand. 

"It isn't for me to tell. Lup, I'm told you made a deal while you were in Refuge."

Lup's tight grip on Barry's hand eased slightly as the memory of that day flooded back. Of course. She had spoken to the Raven Queen and she'd been offered...

"Holy  _shit._ "

"Mom! We're in a temple!"

Barry looked between Lup and Kravitz, confused and more than a little concerned. Adjusting his glasses, he settled on trying to stare down Kravitz.

"So, what's going on? You're not uh... you're not planning on reaping us, right? Because I'm gonna put it out there that I'm going to object to that pretty hard."

Lup turned and kissed him lightly, effectively silencing him.

"No one is getting reaped, handsome. We got a job offer and I said yes. Which I think makes my brother-in-law my boss and that's super awkward."

Kravitz laughed quietly, one hand over his mouth.

"I'll try not to abuse it, Lup. Though I make no promises for Taako."

Lup snorted.

"Don't worry, if he didn't try at least once, he wouldn't be my brother."

For a long moment, they were quiet. Then Kravitz spoke again, reluctantly.

"There is one other thing. The matter of one unaccounted for death." He wasn't meeting Lup's eyes and she didn't like that much. "It was only the one death and, while there was necromancy involved, it wasn't a lich ritual... But it was still an unaccounted for death."

Lup's eyes narrowed and Angus took a step back, moving closer to his parents. It was Taako that moved first though, grabbing Kravitz by the arm.

"Whoa, whoa, babe, stow the creepy work act, because you're freaking me out here. You realize we're not gonna let you like... mcfuckin' reap  _my nephew_ , right?"

Kravitz turned to face Taako, shock registering on his face.

"What? Oh... Oh, that must have sounded... Oh dear... No, no, Taako, I would never. No, My Queen just wanted me to make it perfectly clear that while she's making an exception for extenuating circumstances, that won't be allowed in the future."

Barry laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. Then he smiled at his wife and son.

"Don't worry, I don't uh... I don't plan on needing to do anything like that ever again."


End file.
